Paramount ha overcome the obstacle principal who stood in the way its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discoveryreaching a agreement with California and the other 11 American states who had sued to block the operation, worth a total of around 110 billion dollars. The announcement was made by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. As reported by CNN, the definitive closure of the operation is now expected in early October.
Under the consent decree filed with the court, Paramount agreed to a series of binding conditions. Among these, a minimum number of cinema releases in the next five years: 30 titles in the first two years, which will rise to 32 in the following three years. The company also guaranteed an additional investment of at least $300 million in manufacturing in the United States compared to the expenditure recorded in 2025.
The document also regulates how the combined group’s cable channels are negotiated, the management of movie theaters (so-called “film lots”) and other real estate, as well as the future availability of the free streaming service Pluto TV. Paramount finally agreed to the establishment of a Editorial Independence Committee, overseeing CBS News and CNN. With the completion of the merger, Paramount CEO David Ellison will gain control of major franchises such as the DC universe and the Harry Potter universe.
Even the Writers Guild of America (WGA)the US screenwriters’ union, has withdrew its lawsuit against the mergerwhile maintaining its basic objections. In a statement released by the union we read: “Now that the Attorneys General have reached a settlement with Paramount, the WGA, as a non-profit organization, must deal with the reality of continuing alone, without the support of government authorities, in a complex antitrust lawsuit that would cost millions of dollars to go to trial.”
The union specifies that, as part of the agreement, Paramount has committed to “ban layoffs of writers at CBS News Broadcast for five years” and to pay “$17.5 million to our healthcare fund, in addition to legal costs incurred in the litigation.”
Not all the states involved declared themselves satisfied with the outcome of the case. Among the most critical is the Attorney General of Connecticut, William Tong, who in an official statement said: “Connecticut wanted and demanded the full divestment of CNN and CBS News. We wanted to save ethical and independent journalism and information. We fought with determination to obtain this remedy. I am deeply disappointed that we were unable to do more. The total renunciation of the federal government of its supervisory role in this matter has left the states fighting with one arm tied behind their backs”.
According to the Wall Street Journal on Friday, Paramount was already in advanced negotiations with Bonta to reach an agreement that would allow the purchase to be completed. Politico also revealed that the company had considered moving its headquarters out of California if an agreement was not reached, a scenario that would have prompted Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to urge Bonta to end the dispute through negotiations.
The agreement also comes close to the expiry of the so-called “ticking fee”, the penalty which would have forced Paramount to pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders 25 cents per share for each quarter of delay in closing the deal beyond September 30, at an estimated cost of approximately $7 million per day.
The operation had already received the green light from the US Department of Justice and the European Union; the agreement with the US states effectively removes the last significant obstacle on the path to completing the merger.
