A federal judge on Wednesday approved Paramount’s settlement with 12 state attorneys general, which paves the way for the David Ellison-run company to complete its hard-fought $81-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The settlement, announced last week, resolved an antitrust case brought by the dozen Democratic attorneys general, led by California, which had held up the deal and threatened to stop Ellison’s ambitions to create a media and entertainment behemoth.
The company behind hits like “The Godfather,” “Top Gun” and “South Park” agreed to invest at least $1.5 billion more in domestic production over five years and commit funds for a workforce-training program for the entertainment industry. The states and the Writers Guild of America sued in July to block the deal on antitrust grounds. The attorneys general argued that the combination of Paramount and Warner would create too much concentration in the markets for theatrical films and television channels, while the WGA said the combination of legacy media companies would reduce jobs for screenwriters.
Also on Wednesday, Ellison announced that Mattel Chief Executive Ynon Kreiz would become co-CEO of the combined Paramount and Warner companies. In its settlement agreement, Paramount pledged to release at least 30 films a year for five years. Paramount vowed to create an editorial-independence board to oversee CNN and CBS News, the two news organizations it will control after the deal.
Per the consent decree, within 180 days of closing, the company must create a five-journalist editorial board with authority to resolve disputes involving CBS News and CNN employees over alleged violations of editorial principles, reporting bias and fairness standards.
Source: Wall Street Journal US Business · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing