Sen. Elizabeth Warren warned that giving in to settlement talks in the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger case would be a major error. Warren's statement came as reports emerged that California Attorney General Rob Bonta was in advanced negotiations with Paramount Skydance. A settlement with the states could remove a major legal obstacle to the $110 billion deal between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, although the Writers Guild of America is also challenging the transaction. The senator criticized the idea of allowing another Trump-aligned media company to gain more control over the industry. She referenced recent actions by President Trump, including banning CNN and other outlets from the White House press pool. Warren said the merger could create what she called a "Trump-controlled media conglomerate."
A campaign group called Block the Merger said that an agreement based on unenforceable concessions would only benefit Paramount CEO David Ellison, according to TheWrap. The group emphasized that many industry leaders had publicly opposed the merger and that over 75,000 people had joined their cause.
Paramount and Bonta were reportedly in talks to end the lawsuit that had threatened the deal, according to Reuters. The legal battle had been led by Bonta and eleven other Democratic state attorneys general. The Writers Guild of America is also part of the legal challenge. Negotiations have reportedly moved forward in recent days. Paramount CEO David Ellison is under pressure to wrap up the case before October 1st, when a $7 million per day fee to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders begins accruing if the transaction has not closed.
Bonta’s office declined to comment on the specifics of the settlement talks, calling them confidential. The merger would combine major entertainment assets including HBO, CBS, CNN, Comedy Central, and Food Network. Both sides have incentives to reach a deal, with Paramount seeking to avoid the mounting ticking fee and complete the transaction sooner. Opposition to the merger includes concerns about job losses, with one study estimating that nearly 4,500 film and television jobs could be lost in Los Angeles County over the next three years. The study described those jobs as being at risk rather than saying that all of them would definitely be eliminated.
Industry leaders and public figures have urged Bonta not to back down from the case. A group of political and industry leaders including Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass encouraged both sides to settle. Newsom said he supported a settlement if California could get what he called the "best deal." The parties had also agreed to court-mandated settlement talks for late October. The Wall Street Journal reported that the two sides were discussing compromises such as temporarily operating the two companies' movie studios separately. Bonta has also said a structural settlement could require a significant portion of the combined company's basic cable channels to be owned by someone else.
Warner Bros. Discovery stock rose about 8% after the news of settlement negotiations. Paramount’s shares also climbed nearly 7%. Bonta has previously said he is open to a settlement but insists that Paramount must offer structural remedies such as asset sales rather than relying only on short-term promises.
The Justice Department cleared the merger in June, but the state lawsuit has kept the transaction from closing. Paramount has agreed not to complete the merger until five days after a court decision or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first. The antitrust trial is currently scheduled for March.
Earlier this week, the Federal Communications Commission approved Paramount's request to allow substantial indirect foreign investment connected with the merger. Foreign investors include sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The FCC is led by Chairman Brendan Carr, who was appointed chairman by President Trump. The ruling allows foreign investors to exceed the normal 25% indirect foreign-ownership threshold. However, those investors are barred from holding voting stock or taking part in management, programming decisions or other company operations.