Paramount, State AGs Have Agreed To Settlement In Merger Lawsuit

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 23: An aerial view of the Paramount logo on the water tower at Paramount Studios on February 23, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Paramount Skydance is poised to increase its takeover offer for Warner Bros. Discovery above Netflix’s current bid, setting up a high-stakes bidding war that could see Netflix walk away from the deal if outbid. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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Bloomberg is reporting that Paramount Skydance has negotiated a settlement in a lawsuit brought by twelve state attorneys general and the WGA that sought to block the company’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

According to the outlet, both sides have agreed in principle to the terms of the settlement, which is expected to be formally announced Monday afternoon.

The two sides spent much of the weekend arguing over details of the settlement, with some of the states arguing for the imposition of so-called structural remedies, which could have included forcing Paramount to divest itself of some of its cable TV channels.

According to Bloomberg, while at least four states were pressing for those remedies, California Attorney General Rob Bonta opposed holding up the settlement over those issues, and the remaining states decided they couldn’t move forward without California’s support.

The terms of the settlement have yet to be announced, but they appear to include a guarantee that the two combined studios will release at least 30 theatrical movies a year, along with a financial penalty if the company fails to reach that mark.

Critics of that plan have noted that the 30-film release schedule is not that different from what the two studios are currently releasing.

It also appears that Paramount won’t be forced to divest any of the cable TV channels in the combined portfolio, which critics of the deal have argued would provide the company with an outsized amount of leverage during carriage negotiations with cable and satellite TV providers.

If this lawsuit is indeed settled, this will open the way for the formal merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, which is expected to happen soon afterward.

Under the terms of the merger, Paramount had agreed to pay a $7 million-a-day “ticking” fee, which would kick in on October 1st if the merger had not been completed.