Justice Department Approves Paramount’s Acquisition Of Warner Bros.

The Justice Department's Antitrust Division has signed off on Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, according to two people familiar. The approval clears a major regulatory hurdle for a deal that has become one of the most closely watched media merger reviews of the Trump era.

The decision, expected to be announced Friday, paves the way for Paramount to combine with the entertainment and media company behind CNN, Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO Max streaming service.

After an extensive review, DOJ officials determined the transaction did not pose a threat to competition and declined to challenge it, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. The department approved the merger without requiring any divestitures, behavioral remedies or concessions, according to one of the people.

The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Paramount did not respond to a request for comment.

The public scrutiny intensified after Netflix droppedits own bid for Warner Bros. following ashort-lived bidding contest, allowing Paramount’s offer to prevail.

Three weeks ago, Paramount CEO David Ellison spent roughly two hours meeting in person with Antitrust Division officials, including career staff attorneys, according to one of the people. During the session, officials pressed Ellison with questions about the transaction and its competitive effects until they were satisfied they had exhausted their concerns, the person said. Ellison’s father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, is a longtime ally of President Donald Trump.

The DOJ’s approval does not end the merger’s legal scrutiny.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has been reviewing the transaction and could still sue to block the deal despite federal regulators signing off.

A spokesperson for Bonta’s office told POLITICO earlier this week “the Paramount acquisition of Warner Brothers remains an active investigation.”

Representatives for roughly half a dozen state attorneys general, including Bonta and New York Attorney General Letitia James, listened in on the meeting between Ellison and DOJ officials.

The approval caps months of outreach by Paramount executives, including Ellison, who personally met at least twice with Antitrust attorneys and senior DOJ officials.

Throughout those discussions, Paramount maintained that the merger would strengthen competition rather than diminish it, creating a media company better positioned to compete with streaming leaders and deep-pocketed technology rivals, according to people familiar with the matter.

Hollywood workers fear the merger could trigger another wave of layoffs in an industry already reeling from years of consolidation. Critics argue that billions in promised cost savings will come at the expense of jobs, fewer opportunities for creators and greater concentration of power across film, television and streaming.

In March, Paramount COO Andy Gordontold analysts the company expected there to be more than $6 billion in synergies most of which would come from non-labor sources.

The decision follows an increasingly bitter lobbying battle in Washington.

This week, Paramount accused Netflix of waging a “scorched-earth campaign” against the Warner Bros. deal, alleging that the streaming giant was encouraging opposition from the Teamsters and others in an attempt to sink the transaction.

Netflix rejected the allegations, calling it “absurd.” The exchange underscored the unusually public and contentious fight surrounding the merger as the DOJ neared a decision.