Paramount Skydance Corporation’s (“Paramount”) proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (“Warner”) has been approved by the European Commission (“Commission”) subject to the full implementation of the commitments offered by Paramount. Paramount committed to terminate its stake in United International Pictures in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) and for a period of ten years it will not enter into any agreement with Universal to co-distribute films in the EEA. It also committed not to shift its own or Warner’s films from existing distributors in the circumstances identified by the Commission.
The Commission’s investigation focused on the national and EEA markets for the production, distribution, licensing of audiovisual (“AV”) content, supply of television channels and the retail supply of AV services. The Commission found that sufficient competitors would remain in the film production market following the transaction. However, the transaction would lead to a high level of concentration and increased transparency in the EEA countries where Paramount has a structural partnership with Universal.
The partnership is responsible for the distribution of Paramount’s and Universal’s films to cinema operators through their joint venture, United International Pictures (“UIP”). The transaction would result in Warner’s films also being distributed via UIP and, without the commitments, it would have led to less favourable rental and distribution terms for cinema operators. The Commission also assessed the transaction with respect to the audiovisual value chain and pay TV channels for children. Ultimately, the Commission found that enough competitors remain in the market to exert sufficient competitive pressure on the merged entity.
To address the Commission's competition concerns in the film distribution market, Paramount offered structural and behavioural commitments. As part of these commitments, Paramount will terminate its stake in UIP in the EEA within 13 months from the closing of the transaction. For a period of ten years Paramount will not, directly or indirectly, enter into any agreement or understanding with Universal to co-distribute films in the EEA. It also committed not to shift the distribution of Warner’s films from the existing distributor to the theatrical distributor used by Paramount and, in the UIP countries in the EEA where Paramount and Universal do not share the same distributor, not to shift the distribution of Paramount’s films from the existing distributor to the theatrical distributor used by Warner.
The Commission found that these commitments fully address the competition concerns by guaranteeing that the films of the merged entity will not be distributed jointly with those of Universal or Disney.
(Commission – 22.07.2026)
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
[View Source]