The European Commission granted antitrust clearance for Paramount Skydance’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery under few conditions.
As reported Paramount Skydance Corp on Wednesday gained European Union antitrust approval for its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros.Discovery after agreeing to ditch a film distribution joint venture with Universal Pictures.
The approval is subject to remedies designed to maintain competition in theatrical film distribution across European markets.
Under new condition Warner Bros. theatrical releases cannot be folded into Paramount’s joint distribution setups with Universal or Disney.
As per Reuters, the European Commission, which acts as EU competition enforcer, said Paramount must exit United International Pictures UIP,its European theatrical distribution joint venture with Comcast’s Universal Pictures within 13 months of the deal’s close.
The deal prospered after Paramount agreed not to enter into any film distribution agreements with Universal in Europe for 10 years.
While the U.S. Department of Justice cleared the acquisition, a coalition of 12 state attorneys general led by California secured a temporary court order pausing the merger pending further review.
Apart from the contitions defined, another hurdle is Britain, as UK competition authorities are also reviewing the deal over potential impacts on streaming, children’s TV, and news services.
