Skydance-owned Paramount has agreed to a settlement with a coalition of state attorneys general who had previously sued to block the company’s $81 billion buyout of Warner Bros. Discovery, effectively clearing the way for the mega-merger to proceed. The agreement was reached on Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The coalition, which included entertainment industry leaders such as California and New York, filed suit in July to challenge the deal. They argued that combining Paramount and Warner Bros. would eliminate competition and reduce choices for consumers, particularly movie theater patrons and cable subscribers across the United States.
The legal challenge was accompanied by a separate complaint filed by the Writers Guild of America. Without this settlement, the case was expected to proceed to a full antitrust trial scheduled to begin in March.
Details regarding the terms of the settlement with the states were not immediately disclosed but were anticipated to be made public later in the day.
I just want movies, not mergers. Hope they don’t cancel all the good streaming shows.
March trial would have been fascinating. Too bad the settlement keeps the details secret.
Can someone clarify which entity is acquiring which here? The headline says Paramount is buying WBD?
Did anyone actually expect this to go through? $81 billion is too big to fail in Hollywood now.
So much for keeping competition alive. Another giant swallowing a smaller one just means higher prices for us.