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Paramount Skydance has committed to divesting from United International Pictures, its film distribution joint venture with Universal Pictures, as a condition of seeking European Union approval for its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, according to a regulatory filing published Wednesday.
The European Commission’s antitrust authorities last week proposed that Paramount divest its stake in UIP to allay antitrust concerns expressed by European cinema operators over the Paramount-WBD merger. Founded in 1981, UIP was previously a major international distributor for both studios. But the operation has been scaled back over the years and now operates in a handful of European markets, including Denmark, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Norway, Poland and Sweden.
The Commission did not disclose further details about Paramount’s proposed remedies to address its concerns regarding the WBD deal, consistent with its usual practice in merger reviews. The Commission said it has now extended the “new provisional deadline” to reach a decision on approval of the mega merger from July 7 to July 22. This move indicates that European Union approval of the deal may be imminent.
The mega merger, announced in February following a rival bid from Netflix to buy WBD, will combine the Paramount portfolio — including CBS, CBS News, Paramount Pictures and Paramount+ — with Warner Bros. Television. Discovery’s HBO, HBO Max and Warner Bros. Pictures, CNN, TNT, TBS and HGTV, among other originals. The deal includes combined investments worth $24 billion from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Limad Holding Company in Abu Dhabi, and the Qatar Investment Authority.
The United States Department of Justice has already approved the deal. In the United Kingdom, Culture Minister Lisa Nandy said on Tuesday that she was considering intervening in the deal due to concerns about media pluralism, pointing to the merger of the UK’s Channel 5 and TNT Sports with Paramount+ and HBO Max under joint ownership. The UK Competition and Markets Authority is conducting a separate review, the findings of which will inform Nandy’s final decision.
Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
