EU clears $110 billion Paramount-WBD merger with 10-year film remedy
What's next: The deal is still frozen in the US for at least two weeks as 12 states seek to block it before a Sept. 30 deadline.
The European Commission cleared Paramount Skydance's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday, removing a major regulatory hurdle for the roughly $110 billion media deal. Brussels approved the transaction after Paramount agreed to sell its stake in United International Pictures in Europe within 13 months of closing and avoid new film distribution agreements with Universal there for 10 years. The merger remains stalled in the United States, where a federal judge in California has paused the transaction for 14 days after a lawsuit from 12 state attorneys general led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. If the companies miss the Sept. 30 closing deadline, Paramount would owe Warner Bros. shareholders a daily ticking fee of about $7 million.