U.S. judge approves Paramount’s settlement with states over Warner buyout, clearing way for merger — SkimNews
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- U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled the consent decree a "fair, reasonable, and good faith approach," granting critics including the Block the Merger coalition and Sen. Cory Booker a window to object before approving the deal Wednesday
- Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery now expect to close the US$81-billion merger on Oct. 6, with the combined company valued at roughly US$111-billion including assumed debt
- Ynon Kreiz, currently CEO of Mattel, was named co-CEO of the combined company alongside David Ellison, who framed the merger as a "transformational moment" for the industry
- The settlement requires Paramount to boost U.S. film production spending by at least US$1.5-billion over five years and release 30 films annually in theatres for two years and 32 per year for three years after, with missed outputs triggering potential Miramax divestiture and US$30-million-per-film penalties
- Paramount also committed US$47.5-million over five years to training and career development for workers displaced by the merger
- Paramount must form a five-member "News Editorial Independence Board" to monitor CBS and CNN within 180 days of closing, though Colorado and Washington refused to sign those editorial terms
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the states' lawsuit seeking full divestiture, settled for behavioural remedies instead because, as his attorney put it, immediate structural remedies "could open the door to further acquisitions"
Why it matters: With this ruling, two of Hollywood's last five legacy studios — and their cable networks including CNN — combine into a single corporate parent, concentrating negotiating leverage against cable distributors and movie theatres. The settlement's behavioural commitments expire within five years, and the divestiture-trigger for cable channels is the only structural backstop, meaning the most aggressive antitrust demands from Connecticut and other prosecutors went unaddressed in the final decree.
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