Story perspectives

Ten State AGs Review Paramount-Skydance Warner Bros Deal

6/6/2026

Summary

State AGs Block

Attorneys General from ten states are exploring options to block Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros.
The review includes California, New York, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.
No state AG has announced an antitrust filing, though Connecticut officials are very concerned.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned of red flags.
If the state attorneys general do not intervene, the deal could close as early as July.

Summary

Paramount Faces Fee

The merger agreement imposes a $7 billion termination fee on Paramount if regulators block the deal.
If the transaction does not close by Sept. 30, Warner Bros. shareholders will receive a 25-cent per-share ticking fee quarterly.
European regulators must decide by early July, with a July 7 provisional deadline, while the U.K. comment period ends April 30.
Paramount CEO David Ellison pledged the merged firm will release 30 theatrical movies per year to boost streaming.

Summary

Phoenix Condemns Merger

Actor Joaquin Phoenix and director-writer-producer JJ Abrams condemned the Paramount-Warner merger in a letter, warning of job cuts.
Paramount hired antitrust lawyer Jeffrey Kessler, who previously won a case for state attorneys general against Live Nation.
Raymond James analysts said the $110 billion merger—featuring $79 billion debt, $6 billion cost cuts, a $31 per-share price for Warner investors, and 49.5% foreign ownership (including 24% by three Middle East funds)—is still likely to close.

Summary

Subscribers Sue

Five subscribers sued in California to block Paramount’s $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery merger, alleging fewer options.
They say the deal breaches Section 7 of Clayton Act by giving Paramount 24% of distribution.
The complaint accuses Skydance of aligning CBS News with White House, harming credibility.
Paramount moved to dismiss as misguided and politicized, set a July 16, 2026 hearing.
Chief counsel Makan Delrahim said the suit is driven by fear-mongering and hinted at antisemitic motives.

History

Historical Context

The 2000 AOL-Time Warner merger, valued at $360 billion, prompted antitrust review of a media-tech combo, leading to heightened FTC and DOJ scrutiny that later resurfaced during AT&T’s $85.4 billion 2016 acquisition of Time Warner. Those precedents shape today’s investigation by state attorneys general, including California’s Rob Bonta and New York’s Letitia James, into Paramount-Skydance’s $110 billion Warner Bros. purchase.

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State AGs Block

Attorneys General from ten states are exploring options to block Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros.
The review includes California, New York, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.
No state AG has announced an antitrust filing, though Connecticut officials are very concerned.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned of red flags.
If the state attorneys general do not intervene, the deal could close as early as July.

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