EXCLUSIVE-DOJ antitrust head says Paramount–Warner Bros deal review is not political

By Jody Godoy

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) - Paramount Skydance's PSKY.O proposed acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery WBD.O will "absolutely not" have a fast track to approval because of political factors, the head of the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust division told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

"The idea that somehow enforcement has been politicized is ludicrous," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi, who declined to comment on ongoing probes.

Warner Bros shares closed down around 1%, while Paramount closed down around 2.5% on Wednesday.

Assefi recently resumed his prior post as acting head of the antitrust division after the departure of Gail Slater. He previously served as a special counsel to the White House during Trump's first administration, and has served in the DOJ for more than eight years, including as a criminal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

"There'll be more to come on both the mergers and conduct side. We're aggressive," he said.

As an example, Assefi said that in 2025, when he led the antitrust division's criminal program, the amount of prison time imposed for antitrust crimes rose by 1,200% year over year. DOJ enforcement trend charts show average prison time jumped about fivefold in 2025 from the previous year.

PARAMOUNT MERGER REVIEW

Analysts have viewed Paramount as facing an easier road to regulatory clearance in the U.S. in part because of its political connections. Paramount CEO David Ellison's father, billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, has cultivated ties with President Donald Trump.

"Absolutely not," Assefi said in response to a question about whether Paramount would receive an easier way through deal review because of political factors.

"I think even Ted Sarandos has been very vocal about the fact that he had a very open and fair and thorough review under us," Assefi said, referring to the CEO of Netflix.

Netflix's competing bid for Warner Bros' studio and streaming assets was under review by the DOJ until it walked away from the deal rather than match Paramount's offer.

Paramount maintains that its deal poses fewer problems for competition than Netflix's bid. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has said the state is probing the transaction.

'KITCHEN TABLE ISSUES' AT THE FOREFRONT

Assefi said that, like Slater's, his agenda for the antitrust division is focused on affordability and "kitchen table issues." The goal is to "improve the lives of people as fast as possible" by taking action against anticompetitive conduct that raises prices for food, healthcare and housing.

Assefi said his time as a criminal prosecutor has influenced how he approaches civil enforcement.

"I want to focus on the conduct that we have the most problem with, ameliorate that, and then move on to the next matter," he said.

The DOJ's recent settlement of its case against Live Nation was a "historic outcome" that did more to restore competition than prior administrations or private lawsuits, he said.

BIG TECH 'ACQUIHIRES' PRESENT RED FLAGS

Assefi also urged companies to engage in the merger review process and not try to sidestep it through evasive tactics.

Acquihires, in which the world's biggest technology firms pay large sums in deals with promising startups to take their technology and talent, but stop short of formally acquiring the target, are increasingly being viewed by antitrust regulators as an attempt to evade merger rules.

In one recent example, Nvidia NVDA.O in December agreed to license chip technology from startup Groq and hire its CEO, without buying the company.

When companies make acquisitions, they hand over information about a proposed transaction to federal antitrust enforcers. "Acquihires" allow companies to essentially absorb other firms without going through that formal merger review process.

"When I see conduct that appears aimed to circumvent that process, as a litigator, as an enforcer, that's more of a red flag to me than if you had just participated and complied" with the review process, Assefi said.

He said companies should be willing to engage in the merger review process. That way, the DOJ can quickly understand and address any concerns, or, if the deal has no competitive issues, end its review early and let the deal close, he said.