Paramount Skydance reached a settlement with California and other states that sued to block its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Talks wrapped over the weekend after four states that had opposed the terms of a deal outlined with California dropped their objections.
The states had sued to stop the roughly $110 billion deal, arguing it would reduce competition in movies and television. Trump administration regulators had already cleared the merger.
The states that held out secured independent editorial boards for CBS and CNN as part of the settlement. The terms also include a financial penalty if Paramount fails to distribute 30 films per year in theaters, with discussions calling for a $30 million payment for each film below that target.
The settlement removes a major obstacle to closing one of the largest media mergers in history.
