Justice Department Approves Paramount’s $111B WBD Acquisition

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.

Golden State AG Rob Bonta’s office did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment Friday. Paramount themselves had no comment.

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.

Paramount announced its deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in late February and had said it expects to close in the third quarter, which would be a remarkably quick turnaround of a deal this size.

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Additionally, 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.

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