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Business

Judge declines to approve $110bn Paramount–Warner Bros merger settlement and demands more answers

US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin declined to approve the antitrust settlement for Paramount Skydance's $110bn takeover of Warner Bros Discovery at a Thursday hearing, ordering responses to Sen. Cory Booker's call for an independent public-interest review by Monday noon.

By James Calloway · · 2 min read

A federal judge has declined to approve the antitrust settlement clearing Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, ordering both sides to answer fresh questions before she will sign the five-year consent decree.

US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin, sitting in the Northern District of California, held off at a virtual hearing on Thursday (24 September) after California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the deal on Monday. She directed the parties to respond by noon on Monday 28 September to a letter from Senator Cory Booker, who urged her to “subject the proposed consent decree to an independent public-interest review before entering it”. She also asked for a written copy of the decree with any redlined amendments, and for amicus briefs from the Block the Merger coalition and LULAC to be filed by 12:01pm PT on Friday.

The settlement, struck with 12 state attorneys general, commits Paramount to 30 theatrical releases a year for two years (rising to 32), a $30 million penalty per film missed, $1.5 billion in US production spending over five years, and an independent editorial board overseeing CNN and CBS News.

In a tense exchange, Paula Blizzard of the California AG’s office insisted the talks were an “arms length” process, adding: “If we block the merger, it would be forever.” She accused Paramount chief David Ellison of “blackmailing” the state by threatening to leave California; Paramount’s lawyer Josh Holian disputed that, calling it a business decision. No timeline was given for a ruling, though Ellison expects the deal to close within two weeks if the decree is approved.

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