The U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division cleared Paramount Skydance's roughly $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on June 12, 2026, per Reuters. The sign-off removes the largest single regulatory obstacle to a deal signed February 27 and approved by WBD shareholders on April 23.
The American clearance landed in the middle of a global green-light run. Australia's ACCC approved on June 10, 2026, per the competition regulator's decision; China's SAMR cleared on June 17, per reports of the approval; and South Africa and Canada followed on June 19-20. Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and several European FDI authorities had already signed off in late May and early June.
What the Clearance Actually Means
A DOJ blessing is not the finish line — it is the loudest checkpoint. The FCC's review of the combined 49.5 percent foreign ownership remains open, and the UK signaled in late June it was leaning toward intervention, with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy ordering responses by July 6, 2026. Brazil moved its review to a second phase on June 25. Closing was still guided to September 2026, per Paramount's May 4 reaffirmation.
Remedies were already on the table before Washington signed off: on June 6, 2026, Paramount offered to divest European children's channels — Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network assets — to satisfy Brussels, per reports of the offer.
The money behind the approval matters as much as the approval itself. In the same week as the DOJ decision, WBD secured $15 billion in seven-year term loans due 2033, per reports of the June 4 financing — the debt scaffolding that turns a signed agreement into an operable company on day one.
Who Wins and Who Is Left Exposed
Paramount wins momentum: every major economy that clears makes the remaining objectors look isolated. Debt investors win mandated paper in a scarce-issuance year. The exposed parties are competitors — a combined Warner-HBO-Paramount library plus a merged Paramount+/HBO Max service, announced March 2, is now a realistic 2027 competitive set — and the guilds, whose members will negotiate against a bigger, more leveraged buyer.
Ellison reinforced the theatrical flank on June 5, 2026, pledging 30 theatrical releases a year from the combined studio. For exhibitors, that promise is now the most valuable sentence in the deal.
For more context, read WGA Sues to Block the Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger.
For more context, read paramount warner bros discovery asset purchase agreement.
For more context, read warner bros discovery shareholders approve paramount sale.