Justice Department clears Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery

The Justice Department has approved Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, removing the biggest U.S. antitrust hurdle facing the deal and giving the transaction its most important recent lift.

Reporting on Friday said the approval was unconditional and did not require divestitures. That clears a major federal obstacle, but it does not end the review process or guarantee that the merger will close on the timeline the companies want.

What the DOJ approval changes

The approval marks a significant shift for a transaction that had been under close regulatory scrutiny. The Justice Department’s sign-off means the companies no longer face the largest remaining federal antitrust challenge in the United States.

Multiple outlets valued the deal at roughly $110 billion to $111 billion. If completed, it would combine major entertainment and news assets under one company, including Paramount, Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO Max and CNN-related operations.

That scale is part of what made the antitrust review so important. The federal clearance removes one major source of uncertainty, but it does not by itself finish the regulatory process.

What still stands in the way

Reporting says the merger could still face legal action from state attorneys general, including officials in California and New York. Those states could choose to challenge the transaction even after the federal approval.

The deal also remains exposed to review from European or other foreign regulators. Those approvals can add time, impose conditions or, in some cases, create new pressure on closing plans.

The Wall Street Journal reported that remaining regulatory approvals are still pending. Axios separately reported that the Justice Department approval came without conditions or divestitures.

Timeline and background

Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery announced the transaction earlier in 2026. The antitrust review had become the key regulatory hurdle, so the federal approval represents the most significant procedural advance so far.

The latest reporting suggests the approval arrived on June 12 and was quickly confirmed by several outlets. The earliest verified timestamp in the research packet was Business Insider at 9:37 p.m. UTC, with later coverage from AP and the Wall Street Journal on the same day.

That chronology matters because the June 12 reporting is not a separate development from the June 13 coverage. It is the same regulatory milestone being confirmed by multiple news organizations.

What happens next

The next questions are whether state officials move toward litigation, whether foreign regulators add conditions, and whether the companies update their closing timetable after the federal clearance.

Formal statements from Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery are also a key next step. Those statements could clarify how the companies view the remaining approvals and whether they still expect to close on schedule.

For now, the Justice Department approval removes the largest U.S. antitrust barrier to one of the biggest media deals in recent years. The transaction is closer to completion, but it is not yet fully cleared.