Judge approves Paramount's settlement with states over Warner buyout, allowing merger to soon close

A federal judge has now granted Paramount's settlement agreement with 12 states that sued over the company's takeover of Warner Bros. CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge has granted Paramount’s settlement agreement with 12 states that sued over the company’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, allowing the companies to soon close their $81 billion mega merger.In a Wednesday order, U.S.

District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled that the proposed consent decree was a “fair, reasonable, and good faith approach to address the competitive harms” alleged by the states' lawsuit. Paramount — which was bought by Skydance just last year — previously called the antitrust challenge the last hurdle ahead of closing its Warner merger, and signaled that it aims to close its Warner acquisition in early October.Shortly after Martínez-Olguín's ruling Wednesday afternoon, the company announced Ynon Kreiz — current chief executive at toy giant Mattel — will join Paramount on Oct. 5 and serve as co-CEO alongside David Ellison after the merger's closing.In a statement, Ellison said Paramount's merger with Warner marks a “transformational moment for our industry” and that he and his new co-CEO will lead a business that is “creator-first, tech-forward and built to scale globally.”A Paramount-Warner marriage will bring together two of Hollywood’s last five legacy studios.

HBO Max, a library full of titles including “Harry Potter” and cable networks such as CNN will also find themselves under the same roof with CBS, the likes of the “Top Gun” franchise and the Paramount+ streaming service.That further concentrates power in an industry already run by just a handful of major players. And many critics of the deal have decried the states' settlement, arguing the terms are too weak.The final antitrust fightParamount touted clearances for its Warner acquisition from regulators worldwide over recent months, including the Trump administration's Justice Department in the U.S.But in July, top prosecutors from 12 states — led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta — sued to block the merger altogether. They alleged a Paramount-Warner combination would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers, particularly movie theatergoers and cable customers.Last week, the states agreed to settle those claims through new commitments from Paramount, including pledges to increase film production in the U.S.

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