Vivendi's Universal Music Group won European and US approval for its $1.9 billion purchase of EMI's recorded music business, with the EU requiring the company to sell labels that account for about a third of the British company's revenues.

The US Federal Trade Commission approved the transaction without conditions. The companies are now free to close the deal.

Universal said it would sell some of EMI's most prized assets, such as the Parlophone label - home to star acts such as Coldplay and Queen - in a move which some analysts said significantly reduced the attractiveness of the deal.

Nonetheless, the deal cements Universal's No 1 position in the European music industry, with a vast library of current top-selling and legendary names including Jay-Z, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Robbie Williams, Pink Floyd and The Beatles.-Reuters