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DOJ clears $111B deal
The U.S. Department of Justice approved Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Friday, June 12, 2026, concluding the transaction “is not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers.”
“The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division approved Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion bid for Warner Bros”
The DOJ said investigators reviewed over two million documents, conducted numerous depositions, and coordinated with state attorneys general before reaching its decision, and it declined to challenge the deal after an extensive eight-month review.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison moved to finalize the merger “as soon as possible,” while California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the matter “remains under investigation by my office.”
NBC News reported that New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office is probing the deal as well, and it quoted Scott Wagner saying “State attorneys general have independent authority to challenge mergers even when federal regulators decline to do so.”
Ad refusal and political
While the Justice Department signed off on the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, Paramount Skydance refused to air a 30-second ad submitted by the Freedom of the Press Foundation during Sunday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship broadcast at the White House.
The unaired ad said, “Instead of defending press freedom, CBS’ billionaire owners cut deals and caved to Trump,” and it also included the line, “One fired reporter said, ‘CBS demanded falsehoods and bias to appease Trump.’”
Paramount’s advertising associate told the Freedom of the Press Foundation that the spot was a “conflict of interest,” and Seth Stern, chief of advocacy for the group, criticized the refusal as censorship in a statement.
WIRED reported that the rejected 30-second spot featured Trump calling journalists “the enemy of the people,” and it quoted Stern saying, “Ellison won’t air criticism of himself, his company, or his buddy Trump.”
States, regulators, and risk
Even after federal clearance, the merger remains contested by state and international regulators, with NBC News describing a path for California and New York to sue to halt the transaction under state and federal anti-monopoly laws.
“When the US Department of Justice approved Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros”
The DOJ’s approval did not end the legal fight, and NBC News quoted Scott Wagner saying the “most direct tool available to California and New York is an antitrust lawsuit seeking an injunction to block the transaction.”
Variety reported that DOJ senior officials cleared the deal before career lawyers could object, and it cited Sen. Elizabeth Warren writing, “This reeks of corruption,” in response to a Wall Street Journal report.
Ars Technica added that The Wall Street Journal said DOJ career lawyers were “leaning toward recommending a lawsuit challenging it,” and it noted that the deal still needs an FCC waiver because it involves large equity stakes from sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
