The Justice Department on Friday approved Paramount's proposed $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, clearing the path for one of the largest media mergers in Hollywood history, according to NPR.
The department's Antitrust Division concluded that combining the two studio giants would not harm competition or consumers. Regulators pointed to the expanded streaming market, which now includes Netflix, Apple, and Amazon, as evidence that conventional Hollywood studios face intense competition that makes the merger non-threatening.
The deal will combine Paramount, which owns CBS and CBS News, with Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns HBO and CNN. Media mogul David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, will lead the combined company. The Ellison family took control of Paramount and CBS last summer.
Paramount described the deal as pro-competitive in a statement following the decision and said it would result in a stronger company better positioned to compete against dominant technology platforms. The company said it planned to complete the merger as soon as possible.
The approval does not end all regulatory scrutiny. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office is continuing its own investigation. "The merger of Warner Bros and Paramount is not a done deal and remains under investigation by my office," Bonta wrote on social media Friday. The European Union is also examining the deal.
Critics in Hollywood had spent months opposing the merger. In April, thousands of directors, actors, writers, and other industry workers signed an open letter against it. Signatories included Kristen Stewart, Pedro Pascal, and Javier Bardem. Their concerns centered on job losses and reduced creative output in an already consolidating industry.
Others raised questions about editorial independence. Larry Ellison is a financial backer and adviser to President Trump on artificial intelligence, and critics who have pointed to changes at CBS News under the Ellisons worry the acquisition could similarly reshape CNN's coverage.
