David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance just got the official green light to buy Warner Bros. Discovery from President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice.
The US government signed off on Paramount’s $111 billion mega-deal on Friday, removing a major obstacle for Ellison’s media company as it tries to build a Hollywood superpower. However, Paramount could still face regulatory challenges abroad or lawsuits by US states.
“The transaction is not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers” in streaming, traditional TV, or film production and distribution, the US DOJ said in a statement.
The DOJ also said that “substantial evidence does not suggest a likelihood of reduction in output” in creative output.
“We are grateful for the Department of Justice’s thorough review of this transaction, as well as the work of the other agencies that have completed their reviews and provided clearance to date,” a Paramount spokesperson said in a statement.
Paramount has said it’s aiming to acquire WBD by the end of September. It’s agreed to pay WBD shareholders a so-called “ticking fee” of about $7 million per day that the deal isn’t closed, starting September 30.
WBD had originally agreed to sell its studio and streaming assets, including the Warner Bros. studio and HBO Max, to Netflix for $27.75 per share. Paramount responded by offering $30 per share for the entire company, including its TV assets like CNN, HGTV, and TruTV.
Both Paramount and Netflix argued that they had the more favorable regulatory path and were offering more value to WBD’s investors.
WBD’s board decided in February that the Paramount offer was better than Netflix’s.
