Warner/Paramount Merger Approved by European Union

According to the statement released by the company, Paramount has received approval from the European Union antitrust authority for its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The decision, announced this Wednesday (22), marks a significant step forward for the deal, which still faces legal challenges in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The European approval came with the condition that Paramount end its international distribution partnership with Universal Pictures in the European Economic Area (EEA) within 13 months after the merger is completed. The European Commission concluded that the transaction would not harm competition, provided that Paramount commits not to jointly distribute Warner films with those of Universal or Disney in the region.

• Judge Grants Injuction to Temporarily Halt Warner/Paramount Merger

In the U.S., the merger is facing a lawsuit filed by the California attorney general and 11 other states, which are seeking to block the transaction. A hearing on the injunction is scheduled for August 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The Writers Guild (WGA) has also filed suit to stop the deal.

In a statement, Paramount said the European approval "directly refutes the core assumptions of the attorneys general’s complaint seeking to block the transaction". The company expects the merger to close in the third quarter of 2026, specifically by the end of September.