Paramount Takeover Of Warner Bros. Wins EU Approval
Paramount‘s $111 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has taken a major step forward after securing approval from the European Union’s antitrust authority.
The European Commission has greenlit the media mega-merger, in what will be welcome news for David Ellison as he contends with legal challenges in the U.S. and regulatory uncertainty in the UK.
As was previously reported, Paramount has agreed to remedies to receive approval from the European Commission, including exiting its international distribution deal with Universal Pictures.
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In the U.S. on Monday, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order that will pause the Paramount-Warner merger for 14 days. The order was in response to a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 other states, claiming that the proposed merger violates antitrust laws.
Paramount has a “ticking fee” commitment to WBD shareholders of 25 cents a share — roughly $650 million — for every quarter its takeover does not finalize beyond September 30.
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