EU antitrust regulators clear Paramount-WBD merger
European Union antitrust regulators in question They signed on Wednesday Paramount Skydance recommended purchase Warner Bros. Discovery.
The approval, which included concessions from Paramount, came as the deal was delayed due to concerns raised by state attorneys general in the United States.
To gain approval, the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, said Paramount agreed to divest its stake in a film distribution joint venture with United International Pictures in Europe and would not enter into any film distribution deals with Universal in Europe for the next 10 years.
“These commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission by ensuring that the combined entity’s films are not jointly distributed with Universal or Disney,” according to the EU’s statement.
Paramount’s shares were up about 2% in afternoon trading.
The EU’s approval marks a major regulatory milestone for the proposed $110 billion merger.
The deal had previously received approval from the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division. Various other global jurisdictions have also signed the agreement.
“With the permission of the European Commission, bodies and governments representing 65 jurisdictions either approved the transaction or chose not to object to it on competition and/or foreign direct investment grounds,” Paramount said in a statement Wednesday. he said.
“These clearances recognize that the combination of Paramount and WBD will increase consumer choice and enable a company that prioritizes creativity to invest in more projects and deliver stories to audiences around the world,” Paramount said in a statement. he said. “It will create a media and entertainment company of scale that can compete with the technology companies that dominate the industry, strengthen the media ecosystem and create more opportunities for creators both in front of and behind the camera.”
The clearance comes after a lawsuit brought by a group of U.S. state attorneys general last week became a potential setback to the progress of that deal.
The coalition, led by Californian Rob Bonta, filed a lawsuit to block the merger due to antitrust concerns. The merger aims to combine two major movie studios, Paramount and Warner Bros., a broad portfolio of pay-TV networks, and streaming services HBO Max and Paramount+.
Earlier this week, a California district judge issued a temporary restraining order placing a 14-day pause on moving forward on the merger.
“The conclusions reached by the European Commission directly refute the underlying assumptions underpinning the state AGs’ complaints to block the transaction,” Paramount said in its statement.
Paramount previously said it was on track to complete the merger by the end of September.
