Paramount Skydance Settles Antitrust Suits With State AGs, Averting California Exit Threat

Paramount Skydance reached a settlement with state attorneys general over its merger, ending antitrust litigation that threatened to delay the deal past an Oct. 1 fee deadline. Terms were shaped by CEO David Ellison's leverage over California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who faced pressure to settle as Paramount threatened to leave California with thousands of jobs. By late August, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other California Democrats urged Bonta to settle. Newsom helped broker talks, a source said. Paramount faced mounting per-day fees owed to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders for each day the deal remained unclosed past Oct. 1. Connecticut AG William Tong said he was "deeply disappointed" the settlement lacked full divestiture of CNN and CBS News. Ellison accepted an editorial oversight board for both networks and five years of theatrical distribution commitments. Former FTC Chair Lina Khan and Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized the behavioral remedies. Ellison's next challenge: the deal's historic debt load.