A coalition of state attorneys general led by California is preparing a lawsuit to challenge the merger.

The Department of Justice has approved Paramount’s $111 billion purchase of Warner Bros Discovery. A very early birthday present to CEO David Ellison, the anticipated sign-off by the Para-friendly Trump administration has been confirmed to Deadline by multiple sources.

Chuck Schumer argued that the merger aims to diminish free speech and concentrate the airwaves around Trump’s point of view

Bill Baer, who led the Justice Department’s antitrust division under President Barack Obama, said the department’s statement “will offer Paramount a federal government stamp of approval on the arguments they will no doubt make if there is a challenge by the states or by private plaintiffs.”

The Justice Department said that it concluded that Paramount‘s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery was “not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers,” citing their review of the streaming,

The Justice Department said it determined that the massive merger was “not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers.”

The deal

As expected, the U.S. Justice Department gave its consent for the blockbuster merger expected to reshape Hollywood

But the lawyer once shared by the executive and rival R.J Cipriani allegedly offered her own money to end the dispute.

European Union regulators are studying Paramount Skydance’s prospective takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery