Britain has officially approved the massive Paramount Warner Bros merger, removing one major obstacle for the $110 billion deal.
The UK government gave the green light after Paramount promised to protect media diversity and keep its news operations independent. The decision comes after weeks of review by British authorities. Now, attention shifts to the United States, where the merger still faces serious legal challenges.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said the deal would not reduce competition in the country. According to the regulator, Paramount will still face strong rivals after the merger.
Meanwhile, the UK culture department revealed that the company agreed to maintain
“distinct editorial identities of key services and the editorial independence of news.”
Paramount also offered to make those promises legally binding. Earlier, the European Union approved the deal with conditions. Those conditions include Paramount leaving a regional joint venture with Universal Pictures.
Even with approvals in Europe, the merger is far from complete. Paramount had planned to close the deal before the end of September. However, lawsuits from a group of US state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America forced the company to delay the process.
A court trial is now scheduled for March 2027. That delay could become very expensive. Under the merger agreement, Paramount must pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders about $7 million every day after September 30 until the deal is completed. If the trial stays on schedule, those payments could exceed $1 billion before a judge even gives a verdict.
Despite the setbacks, Paramount remains confident about the merger. The company welcomed the UK and EU approvals, saying they weaken the arguments made in the US antitrust case.
Paramount said the decisions
“further demonstrate the misguided and gerrymandered market definitions relied upon by the US state (attorneys general) in their antitrust complaint in California.”
It also argued that
“The combination of Paramount and WBD will enhance consumer choice… (and will create a media company) capable of competing with the tech companies that have come to dominate the industry.”
