European broadcaster RTL secured unconditional EU antitrust approval for its Sky Deutschland acquisition on Wednesday after regulators said the deal would not pose any competition concerns in Europe.
The deal would give RTL, which is majority-owned by German media group Bertelsmann, local access to Sky’s premium sports rights including Bundesliga and Premier League soccer, and Formula 1 motor racing, and Sky’s WOW streaming service.
The combination of two of Europe’s strongest media offerings in sport and entertainment would help RTL better compete with U.S. heavyweights Netflix, Disney and Amazon Prime in Germany.
The European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, said remedies offered by RTL, last month which included outsourcing advertising sales to third parties, were not necessary.
“We looked carefully at this deal, and ultimately found no evidence that this acquisition would raise any competition concerns,” EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said in a statement.
“The transaction will allow well-established European media groups to consolidate their position at a time when the industry is transforming, and they are facing increasing pressure from global streaming platforms,” she said.
Reuters reported last month that the deal would gain early EU antitrust approval.
Ribera is currently revamping EU merger rules to allow European companies to scale up when possible so they can challenge U.S. and Chinese rivals.
Source: Reuters.com