Oct 25, 2025
3 min read
A combined company of Warner Bros.Discovery-Paramount may already have Trump's blessing, but it has a few more steps to go.
In a letter to the bosner broad district, David Ellison, founder of Bros., said it was "the best thing" Paraday could do to combine other costs due to other opportunities.But that doesn't mean the preromount-wbd economy isn't its own challenge.
Unlike the purchase of SkyDance from Paramount, the Warner Bros. Discovery purchase will not require Federal Communications Commission review because there is no transfer of broadcast licenses.But the deal will still be subject to the same standard antitrust filings, so the financial providers that created Warner Bros. Discovery are owed about $35 billion.
A Paramount-WBD combination appears to be in the White House's sights, with President Donald Trump reportedly expressing his support for the company's bid.Paramount could also rely on the expertise of general counsel Makan Delrahim, who served as a former deputy attorney general in the Justice Department's antitrust division during Trump's first term.
Still, Hollywood has been beaten for years, and it checks out on a number of levels on a scale of this magnitude.Regulators could see offsetting power and joint long-term liabilities and reach the joint company.
"It is different from the Skydance agreement and what almost any Hollywood benefits will have in the negotiations," because of the number of Hollywood researchers and the former head of the Flintshire County Council staff union he wrote in the September 16 research book. "As far as we can see, everyone in the department will be negatively affected if the agreement is accepted."
In other words, despite President Trump's endorsement, it's not a complete success.
Paramount and Warner Bros. representatives for Discovery did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What would a DOJ antitrust review look like?
For bidders, the review of the Department of Justice will look at the effects of the combined administration in the concentration of the market in the field, strategy, advertising and sports.
The agency calculates market concentration using what is known as the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), which operates on a scale of zero to 10,000 points.An HHI between 1,000 and 1,800 points is considered moderately concentrated, while anything above 1,800 points is considered highly concentrated.
From the previous analysisLevine estimates that the sum of paramour-WBD.The concentration of movie studios could increase from Healey's score of 1,730 to about 2,087 to 4,730. However, he noted that Trump's studio could have the same effect as other candidates.
Similarly, he said that the combined company - which would likely combine Paramount + and HBO Max into one streaming service - could make the streaming market "quite concise," but noted that factors such as essential titles, selectivity and collection are very important and expects the DOJ to combine the HHI with "specific content evidence" to determine if anything needs to be deposited.
This is where things get complicated by the lines
Another obstacle is the joint Paramount-WBD portfolio of sports rights, Levin said, adding that the market is highly concentrated, while the advertising market could also go from "moderately concentrated to highly concentrated," which could prompt the DOJ to look for a sale or other restructuring measures.
Additionally, Levine warns that the joint venture could reduce the bargaining power of creatives and artists in the talent consolidation and content certification market, leading to thousands of financial transactions.
There are also issues of media diversity and political influence raised by combining CBS News and CNN, but Levin said approval would likely require similar concessions that were made to approve the Skydance-Paramount deal, such as the appointment of an ombudsman.Paramount-WBD would also have increased leverage over broadcasting-affiliated owners in negotiations, which may require a condition of giving CBS-affiliated companies more financial and other support.
Other possible obstacles
In addition to DJ, Plamount and VBD will receive a restraining order from foreign regulators, who will assess the impact of the main competition.Those things will include the European Union, the United Kingdom and the competition of the United States in the market rights and the Canadian Redioction in television and television.
Even if the federal government approves the 'Prount-WBD' union, it can still be monitored repeatedly by the attorney general, who can sue to block it.But Levin points out that the operation of the agreement that has already been signed is a modern war.
“The most important state to watch is California, with both the attorney general with the resources to bring a case and the largest number of jobs at stake in the transaction,” Levin said.“New York could also join in opposing the deal, as could other states where movies are a major driver of the economy (including Georgia, Illinois and New Mexico), but we expect California to be the lead state if states object to the treaty.”
Others who did not publish publicly included professional writers and legislators, such as Armada.
There are also the most important issues. The WBD board is confident that the consensus on the company as a whole will create value for its shareholders.
"The way we approach everything is primarily what's good for the talent community, what's good for our shareholders and what's good for creating value and what's good for fundamentally storytelling in general," Ellison said at Screentime's Bloomberg conference earlier this month.
To date, WBD has rejected three separate takeover bids for the most important $19 to $23.50 per share, and put a formal takeover of its business, and put a formal takeover of it, and put a formal takeover of its business, and put in "adverse interest from several parties."Other potential suitors that have been floated include Comcast, Amazon, Apple and Netflix.
Netflix analysts said that "Picky" and M & A do not focus on linear networks, but are "burdened to make things work."Comcast and Amazon declined to comment, though Apple did not return a request for comment.
WBD stock, which is trading around $21 per share as of Friday morning, is up 179% in the past year, 97% year-to-date, 147% in the past six months and 6% in the past month.
