Paramount‘s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery has been given the green light by UK authorities.
Lisa Nandy, the British culture secretary, has said she will not intervene in the industry-reshaping merger, despite previously saying she was “minded” to examine the deal in more detail. The Competition and Markets Authority has also cleared the deal, meaning it will not move to a deeper investigation.
The UK was seen as one of the last major overseas stumbling blocks to David Ellison securing his prize, meaning the Paramount boss can now focus on fighting the U.S. lawsuit, which will go to trial in March 2027.
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To clear regulatory hurdles in the UK, Paramount has agreed to a “deed of covenant” with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. This includes a commitment not to combine linear channels with its streaming services and maintain the editorial independence of its news services and children’s networks.
The commitments, which come into effect once the transaction completes and will remain in force for five years, will ensure that Channel 5 News’ editorial direction remains entirely separate from CBS News and CNN International. HBO Max and Paramount+ will also not merge, while 5 will continue to operate as a public service broadcaster.
“Paramount is grateful to the CMA for its constructive engagement and its review of the transaction,” Paramount said in a statement. The UK clearance means Paramount’s deal now has approval in the European Union and other territories, including Australia.
“These clearances recognize that the combination of Paramount and WBD will enhance consumer choice and enable a creative-first company to invest in more projects and bring stories to audiences worldwide,” Paramount added.
In a letter to the British government, Ellison admitted that the combined WarnerMount entity will result in cuts.
“As with any transaction of this nature, opportunities to improve operational efficiencies and effectiveness may be identified over time. These may include the consolidation or combination of certain back-office functions, technology stacks, legal, financial and platform delivery and other non-editorial operational arrangements, where this serves the interests of efficiency and audience,” Ellison wrote.
“Paramount wishes to make clear that any such measures will be kept entirely separate from editorial and content decisions, and will in no way diminish the breadth, quality or diversity of content available to UK audiences.”
In addition to clearing the deal, culture secretary Nandy has ditched plans to bring forward secondary legislation enabling Ofcom to examine how the Paramount-WBD deal would impact streaming services. Public interest issues relating to streaming are not currently covered under the Enterprise Act 2002.
More follows.
