European Commission Approves Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger
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- The European Commission approved the $111 billion Paramount Skydance–Warner Bros. Discovery merger on Wednesday, removing one of the few remaining obstacles to closing the deal
- Paramount agreed to cancel its film distribution partnership with Universal in Europe within 13 months and not enter a similar arrangement for at least a decade, conditions the Commission said fully address its competition concerns
- The Commission's investigation found the deal will not harm competition in EU TV or film production, but flagged that the film distribution market would become overly concentrated due to Paramount's United International Pictures joint venture with Universal
- A federal judge in Oakland temporarily halted the merger on Monday pending a hearing on a preliminary injunction sought by 12 states including California and New York
- The 12-state coalition argues the deal will consolidate two of the top three U.S. basic cable programmers and two of the top film distributors, leading to higher prices and less output
- Paramount has received approvals from some 20 other countries, including Australia, China, and the U.S. Department of Justice; the UK is still considering whether to intervene
- The Writers Guild of America has also sued to block the merger, arguing it will limit pay and creative opportunities for film and TV writers
Why it matters: The EU green light removes one of the last major regulatory hurdles for the $111 billion deal, which has cleared roughly 20 countries globally. But a federal judge in Oakland has temporarily halted the merger pending a preliminary injunction hearing brought by 12 states, with the WGA also suing — meaning the deal's biggest remaining threat is now a California courtroom, not Brussels.
