The U.S. Department of Justice approved Paramount Skydance Corp’s planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on June 12, concluding that the approximately $110 billion transaction was unlikely to harm competition or consumers.
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division spent eight months evaluating how the transaction would affect streaming video services, traditional television, and the film industry. The department received more than 2 million documents from the parties and extensive input from third parties across the media and entertainment ecosystem.
The merger would combine major media assets including HBO, Paramount+, CNN, CBS, and the Warner Bros. movie studio under one corporate umbrella. The combined entity would have approximately 200 million streaming subscribers and represent one of the largest theatrical distribution operations in the United States.
The deal hands control of CNN to Paramount CEO David Ellison, whose father, billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, has cultivated ties with President Donald Trump. The outcome has drawn fierce criticism from Democratic lawmakers who question whether politics influenced the regulatory review.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused the DOJ of “political manipulation” during the review process. Senator Elizabeth Warren echoed the condemnation, calling the approval “terrible news” for every American and urging state attorneys general to pursue legal action, stating the deal “reeked of corruption and influence-peddling.”
A coalition of state attorneys general, led by California and New York, is already preparing an antitrust lawsuit that could delay or block the merger. European and British regulators are also continuing their review of the transaction.
The companies expect to complete the transaction by September 30. Paramount said it was grateful for the DOJ review and remained focused on completing the deal.