Paramount has reached a deal with 12 state attorneys general that removes a major obstacle to closing its acquisition of Warner Bros. The deal comes just before the company was to begin accruing a $7 million daily “ticking fee” on Oct. 1, which was seen as an important milestone in the case. Bloomberg was first to report the news, followed by the Wall Street Journal.
A source also confirmed to Variety that the deal is done. The merger was on hold pending the outcome of the states’ antitrust lawsuit, which was set for a trial on March 2, 2027. The $111 billion merger is the largest in Hollywood history.
Details of the agreement have yet to be made public. But the two sides spent the weekend in tense discussions over Paramount’s commitments to remain in California and over its production levels. The discussions also focused on editorial oversight of CBS and CNN, a key concern for East Coast attorneys general.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta led the 12-state coalition, which sued to block the deal in July despite prior approval from the U.S. Bonta has insisted since then on “robust structural remedies” — which has been taken to mean significant divestitures. Opponents of the deal were quick to blast Bonta for “caving” to Paramount’s pressure campaign.
Gavin Newsom and Xavier Becerra. Newsom, Becerra, and Bonta did not meet that mark. The people who work in the film and TV industry and the small businesses who support it will suffer as a result.
And so will everyone who values dissent in our democracy.” Still unclear is the position of the Writers Guild of America, which filed a separate suit to block the merger in July. The WGA case was set to be heard along with the states’ case in March. Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted a 28-day restraining order in July, finding that the states had put forward a strong case that the deal would harm competition in the basic cable and theatrical markets.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
