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What the DOJ Reviewed in Netflix’s Abandoned $82.7 Billion Warner Bros. Deal

The DOJ said it reviewed Netflix’s proposed Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, but its public no-harm conclusion concerned Paramount’s competing deal. Netflix withdrew in February 2026, and Paramount’s acquisition closed in October.
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The Justice Department reviewed Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) as part of its examination of competing bids for the company. But Netflix withdrew on February 26, 2026, and the DOJ’s public conclusion that a deal was not likely to harm competition applied to Paramount Skydance’s proposal—not to a completed Netflix merger. Paramount’s acquisition of WBD closed on October 7, 2026, according to the Associated Press.

What Netflix proposed to buy

Netflix and WBD announced a definitive agreement on December 5, 2025. Netflix proposed to acquire Warner Bros.’ film and television studios, HBO, and HBO Max. WBD planned to separate its Global Networks business into a new company, Discovery Global, before the acquisition. The announcement estimated that separation would happen in the third quarter of 2026, with the acquisition to close afterward; those were proposed milestones, not events that ultimately took place under the Netflix deal.

The announced transaction was valued at approximately $82.7 billion in enterprise value and $72.0 billion in equity value, according to Netflix and WBD’s deal announcement. The initial consideration was $27.75 per WBD share, comprising cash and Netflix stock and subject to a collar. The $83 billion figure in the headline is a rounded enterprise value, not the equity value.

Why the DOJ examined the bids

In a June 12, 2026 statement, the DOJ Antitrust Division said its eight-month investigation had reviewed both Netflix’s proposal and Paramount’s competing offer. The Division said its review of a WBD acquisition began before Paramount had reached a definitive agreement with WBD because the companies were competing to acquire WBD.

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The DOJ said it received more than two million documents from more than 80 custodians, along with data and submissions from third parties. Those figures describe the materials and participants in the agency’s review; they do not measure market concentration or establish that consumers suffered harm.

What the DOJ concluded—and what it did not

The Division’s June statement said its evidence did not indicate that Paramount’s proposed acquisition of WBD was likely to harm competition or American consumers in three areas:

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The DOJ also said the record suggested the Paramount-WBD transaction could increase competition across media and entertainment, benefiting consumers and workers. Those are the agency’s findings about Paramount’s proposal. The public statement confirmed that Netflix’s bid had been reviewed, but it did not announce a separate clearance or challenge of the abandoned Netflix transaction. It would therefore be inaccurate to say the DOJ cleared Netflix’s deal.

What antitrust concerns were raised about Netflix’s proposal

In a January 2026 congressional hearing submission, witness Joon Yun described potential issues for regulators to consider. These were arguments and questions raised in testimony, not DOJ findings or proof that the Netflix transaction would have caused harm.

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Overlap between streaming services

Netflix and HBO Max both competed for streaming viewers. The testimony raised the question of how combining the services could affect competition, including potential effects on price, output, or innovation. It also raised the broader question of how regulators should define the relevant market: streaming services alone, or a wider range of video alternatives.

Competition among studios

The submission pointed to possible overlap between Netflix Studios and Warner Bros. studios. The relevant antitrust question was whether combining their operations could reduce competition in studio development, production, or distribution—not simply whether both companies made films and television shows.

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Access to Warner Bros. programming

The witness also raised the possibility that a combined company could withhold Warner Bros. content from competing services. That concern turns on how access to content might affect rival streamers; the testimony identified it as an issue to examine rather than establishing that Netflix would have taken that step.

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Why Netflix dropped out

On February 26, 2026, Netflix said WBD’s board had deemed Paramount Skydance’s latest proposal a “Superior Proposal.” Netflix declined to match it, explaining that “at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive.” That decision ended Netflix’s pursuit of WBD; the planned Netflix acquisition did not proceed to closing.

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What happened to Warner Bros. and HBO Max

Paramount Skydance acquired WBD, with the transaction reported closed on October 7, 2026. HBO Max and Warner Bros. therefore did not become part of Netflix through the proposed deal. The fact of Paramount’s acquisition does not, on its own, establish what later changes may occur to HBO Max or the company’s other services.

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