Paramount is inching closer to completing its $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros., a deal that will transform the studio into a theatrical and news behemoth.
The European Commission is expected to approve the merger ahead of an upcoming deadline to open an in-depth probe, reported the Financial Times on Wednesday. The greenlight will include a condition designed to address competition concerns in the distribution of films in international markets that Paramount “exit its joint venture with Universal Pictures,” according to two sources familiar with the situation cited in the story. A final decision hasn’t been made.
The approval follows competition cops in China and South Africa clearing the merger, according to securities documents filed on Monday and June 17.
“We have been engaged with all regulatory and law enforcement bodies in a constructive and transparent manner and will continue to do so,” said a Paramount spokesperson in a statement.
So far, antitrust enforcers in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Serbia and North Macedonia have found that the deal doesn’t violate antitrust laws. Regulators probing foreign investments from Gulf sovereign wealth funds in Germany, Italy, France, Romani, Slovenia, Belgium, Czechia, New Zealand and, most recently, Spain have also approved the merger.
