The U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has cleared Paramount Skydance Corp’s (NASDAQ: PARA) planned $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD), according to a Politico report citing two people familiar with the matter.
Department of Justice officials determined the transaction did not pose a threat to competition, approving the merger without requiring any divestitures, behavioral remedies, or concessions.
The DOJ stated that “the film and television industry is highly dynamic, and the proposed transaction is not likely to harm competition or American consumers.”
Federal antitrust regulators had been reviewing the deal for approximately eight months before reaching their conclusion that the merger could proceed without modification.
The combination would join two of the five largest Hollywood studios, merging major news networks CNN and CBS, rival streaming platforms HBO and Paramount+, and dozens of cable networks under one corporate umbrella.
Despite the federal green light, a group of state attorneys general led by California has been separately probing the transaction and is reportedly preparing to file suit to block the deal.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta had expressed concern in late February that any takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery would further consolidate and limit competition in the entertainment industry.
A spokesperson for Bonta confirmed the state’s review “remains under investigation,” signaling that legal opposition at the state level has not been resolved despite the DOJ’s clearance.
The announcement comes amid a heated public dispute between the deal’s principals and critics, with Paramount this week accusing Netflix of mounting a “scorched-earth campaign” against the merger by encouraging opposition from labor groups and others.
Netflix flatly rejected the accusation, calling it “absurd,” as the streaming giant faces the prospect of two major rival content libraries merging into a single competitive entity.
Opposition to the deal has also been building within the entertainment industry itself, with more than 1,400 Hollywood actors, directors, and filmmakers signing an open letter opposing the merger in April.
The DOJ’s unconditional clearance represents a significant legal milestone for the deal, though the threat of state-level litigation means the path to closing remains uncertain.
