The Department of Justice has given the green light for Paramount Skydance to take over Warner Bros. Discovery in a mega-merger that will reshape Hollywood. The DOJ stated that the transaction is not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers, including with respect to streaming video on demand, linear television, and studio development, production, or distribution of films for theatrical release.

Merger Details

Paramount said it was grateful to the Justice Department for the thorough review and added that it remains focused on completing the transaction as soon as possible and delivering its benefits to consumers, creators, and the entertainment industry as a whole. The companies still face a potential lawsuit by a coalition of state attorneys general who have said the Trump administration is failing to enforce antitrust law.

The state-level legal action could slow the merger process, though Paramount executives say such a lawsuit would be meritless. The companies are also still awaiting key reviews by the European Union and the United Kingdom. Regulators there are examining whether the deal could harm competition.

Paramount has sought to secure all the necessary approvals and take control of WBD in the third quarter of the year, meaning by the end of September. Internally, Paramount leaders have talked about possibly clearing all the hurdles in July, though the timeline of the European reviews makes that unlikely.

Controversy Surrounding the Merger

The deal is bankrolled by Trump ally Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle, whose son David Ellison became CEO of Paramount through a merger last year. Critics of the WBD deal have pointed to Paramount’s overhaul of CBS News and programs like “60 Minutes” — long a target of Trump’s ire — as evidence of the company’s willingness to accommodate political pressure.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.