UK refers AlphaTheta-Serato DJ tech deal to deeper probe

(Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator referred Japan-based DJ equipment maker AlphaTheta's proposed deal to acquire New Zealand's Serato to a lengthier probe on Wednesday.

The move to launch a phase 2 investigation comes two weeks after the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) initial probe found that the deal could weaken competition and reduce innovation, choice, and access to DJ equipment and software.

The companies informed the regulator that they would not offer any undertakings in response to the concerns, CMA said in a statement.

AlphaTheta Corp, the company behind the Pioneer DJ brand, said last year it would buy Auckland-based Serato Audio Research Ltd, a firm known for its Serato DJ software, in a deal valued at more than $100 million.

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

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