Paramount Acquisition of Warner Brothers Should Be Rejected – Will Trump Let it Slide?

Paramount Skydance is preparing a majority cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery that is reportedly backed by the Ellison family. Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, released the following statement:

“A Paramount acquisition of Warner Brothers should plainly be struck down on traditional antitrust grounds, as a merger that would engender a dangerous further concentration in the news and entertainment industry.

“But there’s grave reason to worry that the Trump administration would rubber stamp such a merger, giving a pass to a corporate marriage that would advance its ideological agenda. Approving a Paramount-Warner Brothers marriage would confirm that, for all its tough talk on antitrust, the Trump regime is intent simply on using antitrust as another weaponized tool: a means to punish perceived opponents and reward ideological allies.

“Worth noting is that this proposed acquisition is a result of the domino effect of corporate and wealth concentration. David Ellison is positioned to propose the acquisition because his father, Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, has become richer than any person should be allowed to be.”