Merger Cleared, David Ellison to Join Trump at UFC Bouts

Sunday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House is in some ways a birthday present for President Trump, who will celebrate his 80th birthday by cheering on the fighters at the specially constructed Claw on the South Lawn.

One VIP guest at the game will also be celebrating: David Ellison, the tech heir and chief executive of Paramount Skydance, who received a gift of sorts from the Trump administration on Friday.

After months of careful courting with the president and his top aides, Paramount learned Friday that the Justice Department will not challenge the merger with Warner Bros. Discovery for $111 billion, clearing one of the last major hurdles to a deal.

Once the merger is complete, it will elevate Mr. Ellison, 43, to the rarefied status of media mogul. He will be in charge of two Hollywood film studios; a pair of streaming services, including HBO Max; and two major television news platforms, CBS News and CNN.

Mr Ellison also controls the exclusive broadcast rights to the UFC, one of Mr Trump’s favorite sports, after paying a whopping $7.7 billion for the privilege last year. Americans hoping to watch Sunday’s 8pm event at the White House – which consists of seven tents – will need a subscription to Paramount+, the streaming platform owned by Ellison.

A representative for Paramount declined to comment.

It’s not the first time the president and Mr. Ellison have spent time together at a UFC fight; the men sat together next to an octagon-shaped sports ring at last year’s event in Miami.

The upcoming merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. sparked concern among Democratic lawmakers and entertainment industry heavyweights who argued the deal could reduce competition in Hollywood and limit consumer choice.

Mr. Ellison and his father, the software tycoon and Oracle founder Larry Ellison, have tried to cultivate Mr. Trump in recent years. Larry Ellison appeared in the Oval Office with the president and spoke with Mr. Trump as Paramount pursued its bid for Warner Bros.

After the merger was reviewed by federal regulators, Mr Ellison hosted a private dinner for Mr Trump at the US Institute of Peace in Washington in April. The president sat at a table with Mr. Ellison and Bari Weiss, the editor-in-chief of CBS News.

Numerous senior government officials also attended, including Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general who oversees the Justice Department; Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff; and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

On Sunday, Paramount officials plan to host a pregame brunch at Ned’s Club, Washington’s exclusive members’ club, newsletter Position reported on Saturday.

Last August, in an interview with The New York Times about his purchase of UFC broadcast rights, Mr. Ellison said he and the Paramount team “couldn’t be more excited about it.”

“From my perspective, the UFC is truly a unicorn sporting asset,” he said.

Asked in an interview about Mr. Trump’s interest in hosting a UFC event at the White House, Mr. Ellison declined to comment.

John Koblin contributed reporting.