With U.S. Justice Department approval of its merger with DMX, Muzak is now looking for a buyer of the combined company.

"We have great opportunities with both companies," Muzak CEO Steve Villa said. "We will operate both independently but market them as one entity."

Villa declined to discuss an asking price.

So far, there haven't been any discussions on a name for the combined company or exactly how employees at Muzak will be affected.

However, Villa said, the Muzak corporate headquarters in Fort Mill, which employs close to 500 people, is one of the major assets Muzak brought to the merger.

"We do a lot of the same things," Villa also said of Muzak and Texas-based DMX.

"We see an opportunity from the merger to sell to a bigger client base," he added. "We now have more products for that base, and will be better able to invest in new products."

Both companies provide background music - also referred to as "environmental" music - and other similar services.

Villa expects the sale to a third party will take several months, though he's already getting offers, he said.

"It's too early to tell on job cuts. We have a lot of highly tenured employees in the home office," he said.

"There will be plenty of work to go around, but no decisions have been made on collocations yet. The thought is to integrate the best of the best from both companies," he said.

In addition to music, some of the other services the companies sell include drive-through window communications systems, TV packages and installation and servicing of audio and video systems.

Muzak will turn 75 next year. Its headquarters has been off Carowinds Boulevard in Fort Mill since 2000.

DMX has been in business for approximately 35 years.