Paramount Reaches Settlement with 12 States Over Warner Bros. Acquisition
Paramount has settled an antitrust lawsuit filed by a coalition of 12 state attorneys general, removing a key barrier to its $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Paramount Pictures announced a settlement with a coalition of 12 state attorneys general, clearing a major legal obstacle to its planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The agreement was reached just before the company was set to incur a $7 million daily fee that would have begun on Oct. 1, a milestone that had been closely watched by industry observers.
The merger, valued at $111 billion, had been delayed pending the outcome of the states’ antitrust case, which was scheduled for trial on March 2, 2027. Details of the settlement have not been disclosed, but officials said an official announcement is expected later on Monday. Negotiations focused on Paramount’s commitments to remain in California, production-level guarantees, and editorial oversight concerns raised by attorneys general from the East Coast. Sources indicated the deal does not require Paramount to undertake major divestitures.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta led the coalition that sued to block the transaction after the U.S. Department of Justice had approved it. While Bonta had previously called for “robust structural remedies,” the settlement appears to address the states’ concerns without imposing large divestitures.
The Writers Guild of America, which filed a separate lawsuit to block the merger, is expected to join the settlement. Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin, overseeing the antitrust case, had issued a 28-day restraining order in July, citing potential harms to competition in basic cable and theatrical markets. Paramount has maintained that the merger would be pro-competitive and increase content production to challenge streaming rivals.
In recent weeks, Paramount pressured state officials by threatening to relocate its operations out of California, and it garnered support from some Democratic lawmakers and industry unions. The trade group representing theaters, Cinema United, shifted its stance after its largest members expressed support for a settlement, leaving the states to prove economic harm without broad exhibitor backing.