This was first reported by the news agency Reuters with reference to a morning conference at Warner Bros. In this 20-minute conference, Bruce Campbell, the film studio’s chief financial officer, communicated his company’s approval to employees.

This ends a Bidding disputewhich had been erupting between Netflix and Paramount since the end of October last year. At that time, Netflix announced plans for the takeover. Paramount then also expressed interest in acquiring Warner Bros.

Netflix had only withdrawn on Thursday, February 26th, leaving Paramount as the sole bidder. Warner Bros. ultimately agreed to the takeover for 110.9 billion.

“We believe we have managed Warner Bros.’ iconic brands well,” Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said in a joint statement about their withdrawal from the bidding war. “But this transaction was always a ‘nice-to-have’ at the right price, not a ‘must-have’ at any price.”

Approval from the US Department of Justice is pending

The planned takeover of Warner Bros. through Paramount must now be approved by the US Department of Justice. It is said that the takeover is already being examined in California. Attorney General Rob Bonta is taking a close look at the deal.

Bonta told The Associated Press: “Paramount/Warner Bros is not a done deal. These two Hollywood giants have not yet passed regulatory scrutiny – the California Department of Justice has opened an investigation and we intend to conduct our review rigorously.”

Nearly 10 years ago, the six major Hollywood studios became five when Disney bought most of 20th Century Fox. Now it looks like the five major studios will soon become four, including Universal and Sony, and the Hollywood film industry is once again going through a period of profound change.

With material from Associated Press.