Paramount Wins EU Approval for $110B Deal

Overview

The European Commission has granted conditional approval for Paramount Skydance Corp.’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., valued at $110 billion. The approval moves the transaction forward despite ongoing legal challenges in the United States.

EU Conditions

Paramount agreed to terminate its existing European distribution agreement with Universal Pictures. The company has 13 months from the deal’s closing date to exit the Universal arrangement. EU competition regulators stated that these commitments fully address competition concerns by ensuring that films from the combined Paramount‑Warner entity will not be distributed jointly with Universal or Disney.

Deal Background

Paramount reached the agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in February, after competing against Netflix Inc. in the bidding process. The transaction is led by Chief Executive Officer David Ellison.

U.S. Opposition

On July 13, the State of California and eleven other states filed a lawsuit seeking to block the merger. The states argue that combining two of the five largest studios would harm competition in film and cable‑TV distribution.

Market Reaction

Following the news, shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) rose 0.10%, while Paramount Skydance (PSKY) gained 2.93%.