Competition watchdog clears Paramount Warner Bros acquisitionThe CMA has cleared the dealThe UK competition watchdog has cleared the merger of Hollywood heavyweights Paramount and Warner Bros after concluding it does not pose an issue to competitiveness in the UK. The watchdog opened its inquiry into the £85bn deal on 9 June on the grounds that Warner Bros’ UK revenues exceed £100m. Paramount, backed by billionaire Larry Ellison and his son David Ellison, emerged victorious in a bidding war with Netflix in February after a lengthy battle for Warner Bros, following Netflix’s refusal to raise its offer for the entertainment giant. But the UK market is heavily crowded with long-standing popular sites including Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus, which are unlikely to lose viewership to the combined media titan. Past interventions and scrutiny by the competition watchdog have been blasted by the public in recent years, including its 2023 decision to block Microsoft’s $70bn deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, which was overturned.