NEW YORK – Skydance-owned Paramount has reached a settlement with a group of state attorneys general seeking to stop its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, clearing a major obstacle to the proposed mega-merger, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to the AP.
The source was not authorized to discuss the agreement publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The settlement’s terms were not immediately disclosed, though details were expected to be made public later Monday.
The coalition, which included entertainment-industry powerhouses California and New York, filed suit in July to block the $81 billion deal. The states argued that combining Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery would “extinguish competition,” limiting consumer choice, especially for moviegoers and cable subscribers across the United States.
The antitrust challenge, joined by a separate complaint from the Writers Guild of America, had been headed for a full trial scheduled to begin in March.
