US Department of Justice Approves Paramount's Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Without Conditions

What belongs to Warner Bros. Discovery?

Paramount prevailed over Netflix in the bidding war for Warner Bros. Initially, in early December, Warner Bros. and the streaming service Netflix had entered into a binding acquisition agreement for the studio and streaming business. Netflix offered just under $83 billion for the film studios and the streaming business and ultimately withdrew from the bidding war.

Paramount then turned directly to the shareholders, offering $108.4 billion for the entirety of today's Warner Bros. Discovery, including its TV channels such as CNN. With the offer now valued at approximately $111 billion, Paramount prevailed over the previous bidder Netflix.

Background on the buyer Paramount

Paramount is one of the smaller players in the entertainment industry and is led by film producer David Ellison. The company is backed by the family of software billionaire Larry Ellison, who is known as a supporter of US President Donald Trump. With the acquisition, David Ellison aims to gain weight in Hollywood.

The approval from Washington comes against a politically charged backdrop. President Donald Trump has repeatedly made clear that it is particularly important to him that the news channel, which has often reported critically about him, also changes hands as part of a Warner deal. Critics in the US fear that CNN could lose its editorial independence under Paramount ownership.

Political tensions surrounding CNN

Already after the Ellison family's acquisition of CBS, the network's newsroom became known for more favorable coverage of the Trump administration. At the CBS magazine show «60 Minutes», staff members had also been dismissed, some of whom complained about political pressure.

Ongoing reviews in US states and in Europe

The acquisition is not yet final: several US states are currently examining legal action — they could still file lawsuits. Outside the US, antitrust reviews are also underway, including in Europe. The US government has approved Paramount's planned $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery — but pending proceedings could continue to delay the closing of the deal.

Industry observers see the Justice Department's move as a signal that US antitrust authorities currently do not classify the growing influence of individual media conglomerates as a competition-law problem. At the same time, the question of what impact the change in ownership could have on the diversity of reporting is coming to the fore — particularly with regard to the news channel CNN.