David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance insisted it was “confident in the speed and certainty of the regulatory pathway” in completing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery in a $111 billion deal.
However, the proposed deal between Paramount and WBD is still undergoing antitrust review at the Justice Department, and the new head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division said the proposed deal would “absolutely” not be rushed for approval for political reasons.
“The idea that enforcement is somehow politicized is ridiculous,” Omeed Asefi, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s antitrust division, said in an interview with Reuters.
Asked if the Paramount-WBD deal would be easier to pass antitrust review because of political considerations, Assefi said, “Absolutely not.” He added, “I think even[Netflix co-CEO]Ted Sarandos was very vocal about the fact that we had a very open, fair and thorough review under our control.” In an interview with Politico Europe published this week, Sarandos said there was “no political interference” from President Trump in the company’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and that the president “made it very clear that this is within the purview of the Department of Justice.”
Paramount Skydance declined to comment.
Mr. Ellison and his father, Oracle co-founder and billionaire Larry Ellison, who invested heavily in the Warner Bros. acquisition, were friendly with Mr. Trump. President Trump said he would be involved in a review of Netflix’s deal with the World Bank, then backtracked and said the Justice Department would “respond.”
According to a breach of contract lawsuit filed by a self-styled “fixer” and gambler against Paramount president Jeff Shell (which has expanded to include the Ellisons, Paramount, and members of Paramount’s board of directors as defendants), Shell revealed that President Trump personally promised Larry Ellison that he would intervene to help Paramount win the WBD contract. According to the complaint, Mr. Shell told RJ Cipriani, who is currently suing, that the president allegedly told an Oracle executive, “Larry, Netflix is going to buy Warner Bros., but if you really want it, Larry, I’ll make sure you get it.” (A representative for Oracle, where Larry Ellison is executive chairman and chief technology officer, declined to comment.)
On February 20, prior to entering into the WBD agreement, Paramount Skydance announced that the waiting period for a Department of Justice investigation under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act had expired, meaning there were no “legal impediments in the United States to the completion of Paramount’s proposed acquisition of WBD.” However, the Department of Justice has the freedom to object to the merger even after the HSR waiting period ends.
Assefi took over after the Justice Department ousted his predecessor, Gail Slater, who reportedly clashed with Attorney General Pam Bondi. Mr. Assefi previously served as Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Enforcement and before that was a member of the department’s Washington Criminal Division. Mr. Assefi began his career in the Trump administration as an assistant special counsel in the White House Office of Counsel, where he represented the president’s office in the Justice Department’s special counsel’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Assefi told Reuters that the Justice Department’s antitrust division will be “aggressive” in reviewing M&A transactions. In the interview, he claimed that by 2025, prison sentences for violating antitrust laws will increase by 1,200% compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the state is reviewing Paramount’s agreement with WBD. “These two Hollywood titans have not cleared regulatory scrutiny,” Bonta said in a Feb. 26 statement. “The California Department of Justice is conducting an open investigation, and we will pursue it vigorously.”
Additionally, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) accused the Trump administration’s Treasury Department of failing to initiate a national security review of the Paramount Skydance WBD deal, which was backed by three Middle East sovereign wealth funds: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. (ADIA).
Separately, Assefi told Reuters the Justice Department’s recent settlement in an antitrust case against Live Nation Entertainment was a “historic achievement” that did more to restore competition than any previous administration or private lawsuit. The settlement has been criticized by lawmakers for failing to protect consumers. Earlier this week, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced the Antitrust Accountability and Transparency Act to strengthen the review of antitrust settlements and ensure protections for consumers, workers, and small businesses. “With the recent settlement between the Department of Justice and Live Nation, it’s clear that the American people now have the end result of an agreement,” Klobuchar said.
