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Paramount Skydance is preparing to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery, placing CEO David Ellison in control of major entertainment brands including HBO, HBO Max and Paramount+. Both companies have undergone repeated name and platform changes in recent years, from Warner Media to WBD and from Paramount+ rebrands, reflecting ongoing restructuring across the industry.
Paramount has settled lawsuits from 12 states that sought to block its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. As part of the settlement, the combined company must spend at least $300 million more on US-produced film and TV projects and release a minimum of 30 movies per year for two years, rising to 32 annually for three more years, or pay $30 million per film shortfall into union healthcare and retirement funds.
Several states have agreed to settle an antitrust lawsuit that sought to block the combination of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, removing the last major legal obstacle to the deal. Shares of both companies rose sharply following news of the settlement, as investors now expect the merger to move forward quickly.
Paramount Skydance reached a settlement with state attorneys general who had sued to block its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, avoiding a trial that was scheduled for next spring. As part of the deal, Paramount agreed to boost domestic production, follow certain theatrical release rules, and create a new board to oversee editorial independence at CBS News and CNN. CEO David Ellison told staff the company now expects to close the merger within about two weeks.
Paramount has reached a settlement resolving the antitrust lawsuit filed by 12 state attorneys general that had stalled its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The consent decree requires an editorial oversight board for CNN and CBS News, annual theatrical releases with added domestic production spending, and separate sale of cable bundles to distributors, but does not force Paramount to sell off its networks or studios. The agreement still needs court approval before the merger can proceed.
California and other states that had sued to block Paramount Skydance's $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery reached a settlement allowing the deal to proceed, according to multiple reports. The agreement reportedly relies on behavioral commitments from the companies rather than blocking the merger outright, and comes after four states that initially resisted California's proposed terms dropped their objections over the weekend.
Paramount reached a settlement with a coalition of state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America that had sought to block its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. The agreement includes commitments to produce more than 30 films annually and expand U.S.-based film production, addressing concerns raised about jobs and industry health.
The FCC has approved Paramount Skydance's request to waive federal foreign-ownership limits, allowing indirect foreign ownership to reach 49.5 percent through investments from sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. The funds, totaling roughly $24 billion, are tied to Paramount's pending $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal already cleared by the Justice Department but still facing a lawsuit from several US states.
Larry Ellison has scrapped a 10b5-1 trading plan that would have allowed him to sell up to 50 million Oracle shares, worth about $7.5 billion at current prices. The plan, adopted June 22 and set to expire Oct. 24, had been disclosed in a regulatory filing just a day before its cancellation, and no shares were ever sold under it. Oracle says Ellison has no other plans to divest any of his stock.