Paramount (PARA) Legal Chief Confident of Antitrust Clearance for $111B Warner Bros. (WBD) Deal

Paramount Global’s chief legal officer Makan Delrahim dismissed antitrust concerns and political opposition to its proposed $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery as “fear-mongering” in an interview published June 1, 2026. Delrahim, the former top U.S. antitrust enforcer under President Trump, said no serious regulator would find an antitrust violation in a deal he called “incredibly pro-competitive,” increasing output and lowering consumer costs. Delrahim confirmed Paramount is engaged with regulators in the U.S., Europe, and other jurisdictions, having filed early to demonstrate the deal’s lack of antitrust issues. He ruled out divesting CNN, saying there is limited overlap with CBS News and any forced sale would be an “inappropriate” weaponization of antitrust law. He also dismissed concerns about the combined company’s $79 billion debt load, emphasizing the Ellison family’s long-term ownership stake. Paramount is racing to close the deal, which would put CBS and CNN under one roof, as thousands of Hollywood workers and some state officials urge California’s attorney general to block it.