Justice Department clears Paramount’s Warner Bros. acquisition, ending regulatory standoff

The United States Department of Justice has granted final approval for Paramount Global’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros.

Discovery, clearing the last major domestic regulatory hurdle for the media merger.

The deal, which values Paramount at roughly $80 billion, is now contingent on a pending investigation by the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority.

The clearance, confirmed by a person familiar with the matter to CNBC on Friday, marks the culmination of a months-long review process that required the divestiture of certain cable networks to satisfy antitrust concerns.

With U.S. regulators out of the way, the combined entity can proceed to integrate its streaming, film, and television assets.

The deal, which values Paramount at roughly $80 billion, is now contingent on a pending investigation by the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority.

London’s probe focuses on the impact of the merger on the U.K. media landscape and will need to be resolved before the transaction can close globally.