The Division of Justice has signed off on Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, saying in a press release Friday that it discovered the $111 billion media megadeal “isn’t more likely to lead to hurt to competitors or American customers” following an eight-month investigation.
The investigation was led by the Justice Division’s Antitrust Division, whose overview “means that the affect of the transaction will probably be to extend competitors throughout the media and leisure ecosystem, with advantages for American customers and staff,” the DOJ stated in a statement.
The investigation included a overview of hours of deposition testimony by senior-level executives, third-party interviews, staff-led conferences and extra, the DOJ stated.
“These investigative efforts all led to the identical conclusion: the movie and tv business is very dynamic, and the proposed transaction isn’t more likely to hurt competitors or American customers.”
Paramount launched a hostile takeover bid to amass Warner Bros. Discovery in December 2025, simply days after Netflix initially struck a deal to buy a big a part of the media big. The rival, multibillion-dollar efforts to amass streaming platform Warner Bros. Discovery threatened to upend the media business and form content material seen by lots of of thousands and thousands of individuals.
The supply from Paramount encompasses the HBO Max streaming service, the Warner Bros. movie manufacturing firm, and cable channels equivalent to CNN. Belongings owned by Paramount embody CBS, Paramount Footage and Comedy Central, amongst others.
On this June 21, 2022, file photograph, the Robert F. Kennedy Constructing, the Division of Justice (DOJ) headquarters is proven in Washington, D.C.
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In February, the Warner Bros. Discovery board of administrators voted unanimously to suggest approval of the Paramount takeover. Two months later, Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted to approve Paramount’s takeover bid.
The DOJ stated Friday it reviewed each the Netflix proposed acquisition and Paramount’s competing supply, and that its overview started previous to Paramount reaching a definitive settlement with Warner Bros. Discovery because of the “aggressive bidding course of.”
The merger has been met with concern by some officers and people within the business. In April, greater than 1,000 actors, administrators and writers launched a letter opposing Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing it will “additional consolidate an already concentrated media panorama” and scale back competitors.
California Legal professional Basic Rob Bonta beforehand stated his workplace is investigating the merger.
ABC Information’ Max Zahn contributed to this report.
