Judge Approves Settlement Clearing Paramount's $111B Warner Bros. Discovery Takeover

A federal judge in Oakland approved a settlement on Wednesday allowing Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison to finalize his $111-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, ending an antitrust suit by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 other states. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín signed the five-year consent decree without added conditions. It requires at least 30 theatrical releases annually, $1.5 billion in additional domestic film production, $47.5 million for displaced workers, and retention of the Melrose Avenue and Burbank lots. Ellison aims to close next week. Paramount is selling roughly $44 billion in bonds and $7.5 billion in loans; the combined company will carry over $87 billion in debt. Larry Ellison guaranteed $47.5 billion in equity, and three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds committed $24 billion. Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz will become co-CEO. Los Angeles County estimates 4,500 local job losses.