California Attorney General drops lawsuit against Paramount-Skydance merger with Warner Bros. Discovery

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office will settle the antitrust lawsuit it filed against the proposed merger between Paramount-Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery. The settlement, reached after weeks of negotiations, does not require the companies to make the structural changes Bonta had sought, and the case will be dismissed.

Bonta had argued that the combination could create a dominant position in the media market, a claim that had drawn criticism from industry observers who noted that both Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount-Skydance have faced financial challenges in recent years. The merger has already received approval from regulators in the European Union and the United Kingdom.

"We have concluded that the proposed transaction does not raise the antitrust concerns we initially identified," Bonta said in a statement.

The settlement follows reports that political and business leaders in California expressed concerns about the potential impact of the deal on local jobs and the state's entertainment industry. Sources close to the negotiations indicated that the agreement was influenced by broader considerations, including the desire to avoid prolonged litigation and uncertainty for the companies involved.

The resolution allows the merger to proceed without further legal obstacles from the state, while Bonta’s office will monitor the transaction for compliance with any future regulatory requirements.