Paramount cleared to complete Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition in Australia and New Zealand
Regulators in Australia and New Zealand have approved Paramount's $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, while a UK competition probe remains open.
Paramount Skydance has received regulatory clearance to finalize its proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery in Australia and New Zealand. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced on June 9 that the merger may proceed after a 14-day waiting period, which ends at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on June 23, 2026. In its decision, the ACCC said the deal is "unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in relation to the wholesale supply of films for theatrical release in Australia" and noted that the combined entity would still face competition from other studios.
The New Zealand Commerce Commission (NZCC) indicated on June 5 that it will not further consider the merger, stating that its clearance regime is voluntary and it does not issue informal clearances.
"The merged entity is unlikely to have a sufficiently strong position in the supply of wholesale audiovisual content to enable it to successfully foreclose rivals’ access to audiovisual content," the ACCC added.
The filing also listed recent approvals from competition authorities in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Serbia and North Macedonia, as well as foreign investment clearances in Germany, Slovenia, Belgium, Czechia, Italy, France and Romania. Meanwhile, Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority has opened a formal investigation into the transaction.