Paramount's CNN Takeover Approved: Here's What Happens Next
An $81 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros., which owns CNN, was approved by shareholders on Thursday, but the companies will face additional reviews before the deal is finalized.
A majority of Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted in support of selling the entire business to Paramount for $31 a share, the company said. Skydance-owned Paramount wants to buy all of Warner Bros., which means CNN and CBS could soon be owned by the same company.
The acquisition still faces ongoing regulatory reviews, including by the Justice Department. Warner has said it expects the deal to be finalized sometime in the third fiscal quarter.
How are Mergers Reviewed?
U.S. antitrust law contains a provision to prevent anticompetitive mergers or acquisitions. Under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Justice Department review most proposed transactions in this area that impact commerce and exceed a certain cost. Either agency can take legal action to stop deals that it believes would "substantially lessen competition."
Current law requires companies to report any deal valued at more than $101 million to the agencies for review, with some exceptions.
After companies report a proposed merger deal, the agencies will do a preliminary review to identify any antitrust concerns that require closer examination. Transactions requiring further review are assigned to one of the agencies on a case-by-case basis, depending on which agency has more expertise with the industry involved.
The companies must wait 30 days, or 15 days in the case of a cash tender or bankruptcy transaction, during preliminary review before closing a deal.
The agency reviewing the merger then has several options for how to proceed. It can terminate the waiting period and allow the parties to finalize their transaction, often referred to as “early termination.” It can also let the waiting period expire, allowing the companies to finalize the deal once it does. However, if the initial review has raised competition issues, the agency may extend the review and ask the parties to provide additional information. This is often called a "second request."
Most deals reviewed by the FTC and the Department of Justice are allowed to proceed after the first, preliminary review, the FTC said on its website.
If a second request is issued, the investigating agency has 30 additional days, or 10 days in the case of a cash tender or bankruptcy transaction, to complete its review after receiving all requested information. After that period, the agency can close the investigation, enter a settlement with the companies or block the deal from moving forward through legal action or the FTC's administrative process.
What Has the Trump Administration Said About the Merger?
The Justice Department has maintained that politics will not play a role in the regulatory process.
“The idea that somehow enforcement has been politicized is ludicrous,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi told Reuters last month.
President Donald Trump previously commented while negotiations were happening between Netflix, Paramount and Warner Bros. He told reporters in December of last year that Netflix’s proposal "could be a problem" due to the size of the combined market share.
"There's no question about it," Trump said.
One day later, he said he "didn't know anything about the deal."
The president also said, "None of them are particularly great friends of mine," but added, "I want to do what's right."
Trump also has a close relationship with the Ellison family, and David Ellison is the CEO of Paramount. His father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, is contributing billions of dollars to back the bid.
Can the Warner Bros., Paramount Merger Be Stopped by Courts?
States could try to challenge the proposed merger in court. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, wrote on X, “The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger isn’t a done deal. State attorneys general across the country are stepping up to stop this antitrust disaster. We need to keep up this fight.”
Free Press Co-CEO Craig Aaron said shareholders “do not get the final word.”
“That's why we have antitrust enforcers and courts of law. With Trump officials cheering on this deal, state attorneys general must investigate this massive industry consolidation and step in to stop Paramount’s takeover. This mega-merger will diminish creativity and diversity in entertainment, weaken journalists' ability to expose wrongdoing and hold those in power accountable and further endanger our democracy,” Aaron said in a statement obtained by Newsweek.
Various lawmakers, advocacy groups and professionals in the entertainment industry have raised concerns about the proposed merger.
In a hearing on the merger held in Washington last week, Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey said that "not just a corporate deal" was at stake - "but who controls news, who controls entertainment, who controls storytelling."
Thousands of actors, directors, writers and other industry professionals have raised concerns about the merger, arguing in a letter that further consolidation will lead to job losses and fewer choices for filmmakers and moviegoers.
Other countries, including European regulators, are also looking at the deal.
Did Netflix Offer to Buy Warner Bros.?
Last year, Warner Bros. was working with Netflix on a $72 billion studio-and-streaming deal. Paramount then presented a bid to acquire the entire company, including the cable business that Netflix did not want. The three companies spent months fighting publicly over who had presented the better offer. Netflix announced in February that it would not raise its proposal, and the deal was “no longer financially attractive.”
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 9:00 AM.