Paramount has cleared a major hurdle in its push to close its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the largest merger in Hollywood history.
The agreement with 12 state attorneys general arrives just before Paramount was set to begin accumulating a $7 million-a-day “ticking fee” starting Oct. 1, a deadline that had added urgency to negotiations, Bloomberg reported.
Terms haven’t been made public, with an official announcement expected later Monday.
The merger had been on hold pending a states’ antitrust lawsuit originally scheduled for trial on March 2, 2027.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta led the 12-state coalition that sued in July to block the deal despite earlier approval from the Justice Department, demanding what he called “robust structural remedies.”
Over the weekend, the two sides held tense talks focused on Paramount’s commitments to keep operations in California, guarantees around production levels, and editorial oversight of CBS News and CNN — a priority for East Coast attorneys general in the coalition.
The settlement drew immediate backlash from merger opponents. Alvaro Bedoya of the American Economic Liberties Project accused Bonta, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra of “caving” to pressure, saying “billionaires have yet again bribed, censored and bullied their way to the top.”
“Layoffs will follow,” Bedoya warned. “People from L.A. to Atlanta will lose their jobs, small businesses will lose their contracts, your cable bill and movie ticket will be even more expensive. Dissent against money and power will be even harder to find … People want champions who are not afraid of rich bullies. Newsom, Becerra, and Bonta did not meet that mark.”
Still unresolved is the Writers Guild of America’s separate lawsuit against the merger, which had been set to be heard alongside the states’ case.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin, who oversaw the states’ case, had granted a 28-day restraining order in July after finding the states presented a strong case that the merger would harm competition in cable and theatrical markets. Paramount opted to pause the deal rather than fight a preliminary injunction.
In recent weeks, Paramount escalated pressure on Bonta, including threatening to relocate from California to Texas or Tennessee, while enlisting state Democratic lawmakers and unions like IATSE and the DGA to push for a resolution.
Theater group Cinema United reversed its opposition after AMC, Cinemark and Regal backed a settlement individually.
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