Concessions that include refusing certain theater distribution agreements helped ease regulators’ concerns.
By Edith Hancock and Kim Mackrael
Paramount’s PSKY 2.84%increase; green up pointing triangle $81 billion bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery WBD -0.12%decrease; red down pointing triangle was approved by the European Union Wednesday after the companies offered concessions.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said that its approval was conditional “upon full compliance with the commitments offered by Paramount.”
In order to ease regulators’ concerns, Paramount offered commitments including that it would terminate its stake in United International Pictures in the European Economic Area within 13 months from the deal’s closing.
The company also said it wouldn’t enter into any deal for 10 years with NBC Universal to jointly co-distribute films in the European Economic Area. It also offered other commitments related to theatrical distribution in the region.
The U.S.’s Justice Department closed an investigation into the planned deal in June without challenging the transaction or demanding concessions. The companies now face an antitrust lawsuit from a dozen states including California and New York. A California federal judge granted a 14-day restraining order on Monday that prohibits the companies from closing the deal.
