Paramount Skydance says that it has now been cleared by all global regulators to complete its $111 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery … with that antitrust lawsuit filed by the 12 attorneys general now serving as the sole roadblock to the deal being done.
The company says that the government of Mexico approved the deal Friday, meaning that 68 countries have now signed off on the mega-merger.
“We are grateful that competition authorities in nearly 70 jurisdictions worldwide have independently and thoroughly reviewed this transaction and reached the same conclusion: it is pro-competitive, pro-consumer and pro-worker,” said David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount, in a statement Friday. “Despite this overwhelming global consensus, the litigation brought by the state of California and 11 other state AGs remains the final obstacle to completing a combination that will create a stronger competitor with greater capacity to invest in premium content, support creative talent and workers and deliver more high-quality entertainment to audiences.”
The company says that it is asking the AGs to negotiate “in good faith,” with Ellison suggesting that it is prepared to offer commitments to get the deal over the line (what those are remains to be seen).
“While we remain confident that the law and the facts are on our side, we have offered commitments and concessions and remain open to working constructively with the state AGs to find a path forward in the interest of our employees and the creative community in California and across the world — just as we have with the regulators in 68 countries worldwide,” said Ellison.
The lawsuit and the threat of an extended trial have splintered Hollywood’s unions, with some urging some sort of settlement with strict consent decrees and others like the Writers Guild of America wanting nothing less than a total block.
It has also made many California politicians nervous, with Governor Gavin Newsom said to be quietly pushing for a deal and likely successor Xavier Becerra also supporting a compromise.
Ellison, of course, has threatened to leave California if the lawsuit moved forward, perhaps moving Paramount’s corporate offices to Texas or Tennessee or Georgia, though many in the industry view it as an empty threat given the challenge of running an entertainment business so far from the industry’s epicenter.
But with Paramount having cleared the deal in regulators around the world, the urgency to resolve the lawsuit only grows stronger by the day, and in its statement Friday, the company continued to ramp up public pressure to get the AGs to the table.
“The unwarranted eight-plus month additional delay for a trial beyond the engagement of the last 9 months will impose needless costs from penalty fees, litigation expenses and business disruption,” the company states. “As a business with many stakeholders, including pension and state retirement funds, Paramount is required to consider how it can absorb the unnecessary additional financial costs while preserving the longer-term strength of the combined company.”
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