California Attorney General Rob Bonta is accusing Paramount Chief Executive Officer David Ellison of trying to pressure the state into settling an antitrust lawsuit over the company’s proposed merger with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).
Bonta’s comments followed a report that Ellison told senior Paramount executives he would move the company out of California if Bonta does not agree to negotiate a settlement with the state attorneys general challenging the deal.
“In a span of weeks, Paramount agreed to halt the merger until a court decision or until June 2027, asked for a November trial, and is now back with another attempt to blackmail the state into letting an illegal deal through,” Bonta said in a social media post.
California is among the states suing to block the proposed merger, arguing the transaction would harm competition in Hollywood and reduce opportunities for workers and consumers. The case has delayed Paramount’s effort to combine with WBD and raised the financial stakes around the transaction.
Bonta said Paramount’s threat to leave California would not change his office’s position.
“Paramount has lost the plot as it continues to lose in court,” Bonta said. “It didn’t work the first time — on the eve of our July lawsuit — and it won’t work this time.”
According to the report, Ellison has discussed Tennessee, Texas and Georgia as possible destinations for Paramount if the company leaves California. The move could involve either standalone Paramount or a combined Paramount-WBD, depending on whether the company prevails in the antitrust case.
Ellison has reportedly set an October 1 deadline for Bonta to come to the negotiating table. That date is significant because a $7 million-per-day ticking fee is scheduled to begin if the merger remains delayed.
Those fees could add hundreds of millions of dollars in costs for Paramount while the lawsuit proceeds. The case is currently set for trial in March.
If Paramount loses the antitrust trial, the company could also be required to pay a $7 billion termination fee to WBD, in addition to any ticking fees tied to the delayed close.
