DOJ Clears Paramount's $110 Billion Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

The US Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has cleared Paramount Skydance's roughly $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, removing one of the largest remaining regulatory hurdles to what would be the most significant consolidation in the history of American media. In a statement issued Friday, the DOJ said its eight-month investigation, which involved reviewing more than two million documents from over 80 parties, concluded that the deal is not likely to harm competition or American consumers, and that it could in fact increase competition across the media and entertainment landscape.

Notably, regulators did not require Paramount to divest any assets or accept behavioral restrictions as a condition of approval — a relatively clean outcome for a deal of this size. The combined company would bring together CBS, Paramount Pictures, and Paramount+ with Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros. Pictures, CNN, TNT, TBS, and HGTV, creating a streaming service with an estimated 200 million subscribers and a combined content library spanning nearly the entire history of Hollywood.

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has told investors the deal remains on track to close by September, after which a "ticking fee" provision would begin making the transaction progressively more expensive if completion were delayed further. A Paramount spokesperson expressed gratitude for the DOJ's thorough review and credited the work of other agencies that have already granted clearance. The deal had previously secured shareholder approval in April and cleared its Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period back in February without the DOJ moving to block it.

Despite Friday's green light, the merger is not yet a done deal. The DOJ's approval does not prevent state attorneys general from pursuing independent legal challenges under their own antitrust authorities, and the transaction has drawn vocal opposition from some lawmakers and prominent figures in Hollywood, who warned in an open letter earlier this year about the potential for massive job losses. Paramount has previously said it expects more than $6 billion in cost savings from the combination. Paramount also announced Friday that it is extending debt exchange and tender offers tied to the deal to keep them aligned with its anticipated closing timeline, signaling confidence that the remaining steps can be completed on schedule.