The European Commission approved the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday, clearing the way for the acquisition in the European Union just days after the process stalled in the United States because of pending litigation against the deal.
The European Commission announced its antitrust regulators gave the $81 billion deal the go-ahead on the condition that Paramount follow the concessions it agreed to.
“The Commission found that, at film production level, enough film studios remain as competitors in the EEA,” the European Commission wrote in a statement. “These include other major US studios like Disney, NBC Universal (‘Universal’) and Sony, along with smaller US studios such as Amazon MGM, A24 and Lionsgate, as well as European studios.”
According to the commission, Paramount offered to concede its stake in the British United International Pictures in European Economic Area countries and offered not to enter into any agreements to jointly distribute films with Universal in EEA countries for 10 years.
“These commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission by ensuring that the films of the merged entity will not be distributed jointly with those of Universal or Disney,” the European Commission wrote. “Following the positive feedback received in the context of the market test, the Commission concluded that the transaction, as modified by the commitments, would no longer raise competition concerns.”
The EU’s stamp of approval comes just two days after a federal judge in the U.S. temporarily halted the merger for two weeks. The judge’s temporary restraining order follows multiple state attorneys general, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who brought a case seeking to stop the deal. The temporary pause will continue until the Aug. 3 hearing on the attorneys general’s preliminary injunction motion, which would pause the merger for the duration of the lawsuit.
The European Commission’s approval of the merger brings the number of jurisdictions that have approved the deal or not challenged it to 65, according to Paramount.
Makan Delrahim, Paramount’s chief legal officer, celebrated the commission’s decision in a statement, saying the company’s leaders “appreciate the Commission’s constructive engagement and thorough analysis throughout its review.”
“Not only does this combination not pose any competitive harms, it actually enhances competition by creating a scaled media and entertainment company with the ability to truly challenge the tech platforms that have come to dominate the industry,” Delrahim said in a statement.
The Trump administration’s Justice Department already granted regulatory approval for the merger.
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In the U.S., the merger has drawn scrutiny from Democrats, who have highlighted that Paramount CEO David Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, a close ally and friend of President Donald Trump. Warner Bros. Discovery owns CNN, which the president is not fond of and routinely ridicules as “fake news.”
The state attorneys general argue that the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which bans mergers and acquisitions that “substantially lessen competition” within an industry or create a monopoly.