The European Commission said it has approved plans by Carlton Communications and Thomson Multimedia of France to set up a new joint venture.
The venture, called Technicolor Cenime Advertising, will act as an intermediary between advertising agencies and cinemas, the commission said.
Carlton is active in broadcasting, pay television and media services; Thomson does business in media services, consumer products and components.
The deal was approved under the commission's simplified procedure allowing uncontroversial transactions to be cleared automatically after one month if no one raises competition concerns.