The $110bn deal will require approval from regulatory authorities in the US, the EU and the UK
Champagne reportedly flowed at Paramount Skydance headquarters late last week after the media conglomerate edged out Netflix to acquire the entirety of Warner Bros Discovery for a cool $110bn.
And on a call with analysts and investors on Monday morning, David Ellison, Paramount Skydance’s chief executive, said the company was “absolutely confident” that the merger will expeditiously pass regulatory muster both in the US and abroad.
“We’ve been engaging with regulators around the world and the combination does not come close to hitting any of the metrics that would be problematic,” Ellison said.
But the deal, which drew outraged statements from many Democratic members of the US Senate, doesn’t necessarily have a glide path to closing, antitrust and competition experts say. While Congress does not have any power to stop the merger, a state attorney general – or a coalition of attorneys general – could sue to block the deal, which could put the matter in front of a judge.
