British film distributor; joint venture of Paramount and Universal
The European Commission has cleared Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery’s merger after Paramount agrees to terminate a distribution joint venture with Universal in Europe and to refrain from joint distribution deals with Universal or Disney for 10 years. The approval comes with a 13-month unwind window for the Universal arrangement. US regulators remain weighing the merger, with a court pause and potential injunction ongoing.
The European Commission has approved a Paramount-Warner merger with conditions, saying competition persists in film production and streaming but warns over theatrical distribution. Paramount must divest its UIP stake and end its partnership with Universal within deadlines; the approval emphasizes consumer choice and scale to compete with tech platforms. U.S. regulators pause the case as states challenge the merger; a preliminary injunction hearing is slated for Aug. 3.
The White House has convened a meeting with AI leaders to review a proposed cybersecurity framework for advanced models, following OpenAI's recent agent hacks and calls for greater government access. Attendees include executives from Hugging Face, Anthropic, and others; Meta and Alphabet may participate. Markets show mixed responses as investors watch the policy discussion unfold.