DOJ Gives Thumbs Up To Paramount’s $111B WBD Acquisition; States Ponder Next Move

The Department of Justice has approved Paramount‘s $111 billion purchase of Warner Bros Discovery.

A very early birthday present to CEO David Ellison, the anticipated sign-off by the Para-friendly Trump administration has been confirmed to Deadline by multiple sources. The big hurdle crossing towards ParaBros comes as state Attorney Generals in California, New York and almost a dozen other states are contemplating an antitrust suit to put the brakes on such a mega-studio.

With news of the approval leaking out fast on Friday, Paramount themselves had no comment on the matter. Earlier today, the company and the UFC (who have a $7.7 billion deal of their own with Paramount) got a gift when a federal judge killed an 11th hour lawsuit to stop the Octagon matches set for Trump’s 80th birthday at the White House on June 14.

Among opponents to the merger, Sen Elizabeth Warren has been in the forefront, and Friday she was quick to react to DOJ green light. “This is terrible news for every American who doesn’t want Trump-aligned billionaires to control what they watch and how much they pay,” the New England Senator said. “The Paramount-Warner Bros. deal has reeked of corruption and influence-peddling. This fight isn’t over. State AGs must block this merger.”

Out West, Golden State AG Rob Bonta’s office has long stuck to its line that the “Paramount acquisition of Warner Brothers remains an active investigation, and we do not have any updates to share at this time.” To that, the CA DOJ did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment today.

Overseas, the much debated deal is hitting some roadblock with UK regulators.

Earlier this week, the Competition and Markets Authority declared that it had opened a “merger inquiry” into the deal. With an August 7 deadline of sorts, the CMA intends to examine if Paramount-WBD meld could present a “realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition.” If the Brits believe that such a prospect is real, then a second phase in their probe will kickoff — a Phase 2 that could last up to five months and gummy up the works for the merger.

After a months long death match with Netflix, a bid raising Paramount succeed efforts to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in late February as streamer co-CEO Ted Sarandos was literally at the White House for meetings. Soon after, Team Ellison said it expected to close the matter the third quarter, which would have be a remarkably quick turnaround of a deal this size.

A turnaround that looks to be well on track now, at least in America

Additionally, even as Australia signed off just recently on the deal more antitrust work is ongoing in the European Union, where a Phase 1 investigation is underway with a deadline of July 7. Experts have predicted a Phase 2 investigation is likely.

Separately, the European Commission is examining the deal under Foreign ⁠Subsidies Regulations and will decide by July 14 whether to ​clear it or open a full investigation. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding are providing $24 billion in equity funding, joining the Ellisons, RedBird Capital and LionTree as investors. Paramount says the Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds will be purely passive investors.

Back here in the USA, where the Ellisons’ closeness to “good friend” Donald Trump has cast a shadown on the merits of the widely disruptive merger, Democratic lawmakers have asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in his role as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), to review potential national security risks of foreign ownership. One issue some have raised is a Congressionally mandated 25% cap on foreign ownership of American broadcast stations.

Politico was first to report on the DOJ approval of the Paramount-WBD merger

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