Paramount settlement clears path for WB deal
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The gist
Paramount Skydance settled with 12 state attorneys general, clearing its $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery deal.
The merger would create one of the world's biggest TV and movie companies.
Background
Paramount Skydance has been trying to buy Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal valued at $110 billion, and a lawsuit by 12 state attorneys general was the final obstacle to closing it. The settlement ends one of the most expensive and drawn-out merger fights in U.S. history. The combined company would be one of the biggest TV and movie businesses in the world and would make Paramount Skydance chair David Ellison one of the most powerful figures in media.
How it unfolded
- Sep 15, 2026 weekThe Federal Communications Commission approved a 49.5 percent foreign ownership stake in the deal, from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds.
- Sep 21, 2026Paramount Skydance reached a settlement with 12 state attorneys general who had sued to block its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, clearing the path for the deal. Settlement talks came together over the weekend after four states that had opposed terms outlined with California conceded.
- Sep 21, 2026About two dozen demonstrators gathered outside state offices in downtown Oakland to protest a potential settlement. An announcement about the deal was expected imminently, though a source said it was unlikely before Yom Kippur concluded Monday evening.
- Oct 1, 2026A so-called $7 million-per-day ticking fee was set to begin.
- Mar 2027A federal trial is not scheduled until March 2027.
- Jun 2027The June 2027 deadline agreed to by the parties in court.
Who’s saying what
- Paramount
- The settlement has Paramount making a series of behavioral concessions in exchange for not having to divest key assets, including WBD's lucrative cable networks, and the company frames the merger as necessary to compete against tech giants like Netflix, Amazon and Apple.
- Critics
- Progressive Democrats argued the deal is anticompetitive and criticized the states' settlement discussions with Paramount; Annie Leonard, co-founder of the nonprofit Committee for the First Amendment, said "Nothing has changed since he filed the case."
Still unverified
The final terms of the deal could not immediately be learned. According to a source familiar with the terms, the settlement will see Paramount making a series of behavioral concessions in exchange for not having to divest key assets, including WBD's lucrative cable networks. A $1.5 billion commitment to invest in film and television production in California is among the terms being discussed, along with a promise to keep both the Paramount and Warner Bros. studio lots in Los Angeles and to maintain the company's California headquarters.