EU antitrust regulators approve Paramount-WBD merger

European Union antitrust regulators said on Wednesday they had signed off on it Paramount Skydance Proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

The approval, which included concessions made by Paramount, came as the deal was postponed in the United States due to concerns raised by state prosecutors.

A Paramount spokesman did not immediately respond to comment.

In order to obtain approval, the European Commission, the European Union’s executive body, said that Paramount had agreed to relinquish its stake in a film distribution joint venture with United International Pictures in Europe, and said it would not enter into any film distribution deal with Universal for the next ten years in Europe.

“These commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission by ensuring that the combined entity’s films are not jointly distributed with Universal or Disney films,” the EU statement said.

Paramount stock rose nearly 3% in afternoon trading.

The EU approval represents a major regulatory milestone for the proposed $110 billion merger.

The deal previously obtained approval from the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice. Several other global jurisdictions have also signed on to the deal.

However, in the United States, a lawsuit filed by a group of state attorneys general last week has become a potential obstacle to moving forward with this deal.

The coalition, led by Rob Bonta of California, has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the merger over antitrust concerns. The partnership is set to bring together two major movie studios, Paramount and Warner Bros, and a huge group of pay TV networks and streaming services HBO Max and Paramount+.

Earlier this week, a California district judge issued a temporary restraining order that places a 14-day moratorium on anything moving forward with the merger.

Paramount previously said it was on track to close the merger by the end of September.