The European Commission today approved Paramount’s purchase of Warner Bros subject to remedies, which include the exit from United International Pictures in Europe and 10-year restrictions on joint film distribution, including in Portugal.
“The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance Corporation. The approval is conditional on full compliance with the commitments submitted by Paramount,” the community executive announced in a statement.
The operation raised competition concerns because Paramount and Universal already jointly distribute films through United International Pictures (UIP) in several countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the acquisition would add Warner’s catalog to that structure.
The European Commission concluded that such integration could lead to “worse rental and distribution conditions for cinema operators,” ultimately harming consumers.
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To address the concerns identified, Paramount committed to Brussels to end its participation in UIP in the EEA within 13 months of the completion of the operation.
Over a period of 10 years, the company also committed not to enter into, directly or indirectly, “any agreement or understanding with Universal to jointly distribute films in the EEA.”
Paramount will also not be able to transfer the distribution of Warner’s films from the company’s current distributor to the film distributor used by Paramount when the latter also distributes Universal or Disney films in the EEA countries covered by the commitments, according to Brussels.
The same restriction will apply, in countries where Paramount and Universal do not share the same distributor, to the transfer of Paramount’s film distribution to the film distributor used by Warner when the latter also distributes Universal or Disney films.
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The list of countries covered includes Portugal, in addition to Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.
These commitments, according to the community executive, “fully address the competition concerns” identified, by ensuring that the films of the entity resulting from the operation will not be jointly distributed with Universal or Disney films.
Following the positive opinion obtained under the market test, the European Commission concluded that the operation, “as modified by the commitments,” would no longer raise competition concerns.
The implementation of the commitments will be monitored by an independent administrator, under the supervision of the institution. Paramount and Warner are both active in the production and distribution of cinematic and audiovisual entertainment content, including films and television series.
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The operation was notified to the European Commission on June 2, 2026.
On Monday, the United States Justice system ordered the temporary suspension of the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, after 12 states filed a lawsuit to halt the process due to monopoly risks.
The judge from the Northern District of California issued a temporary restraining order preventing Paramount from completing the transaction for at least 14 days and scheduled a hearing for August 3 to determine the decision, according to several outlets such as NBC News, the Associated Press (AP) and AFP.
