Paramount Skydance announced Friday that Mexican regulators have approved its proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing the total number of countries that have cleared the deal to 68. CEO David Ellison used the milestone to renew pressure on the dozen state attorneys general still fighting the merger in court, framing their lawsuit as the last obstacle standing between Paramount and a completed deal.
In a statement Friday, Ellison said competition authorities across nearly 70 jurisdictions have independently reached the same conclusion after reviewing the transaction: that it benefits competition, consumers and workers. He argued the ongoing litigation from California and eleven other states imposes unnecessary costs and delay on a merger regulators worldwide have already approved, including authorities in the European Union, United Kingdom, United States Department of Justice, Australia and Canada.
Paramount has offered what Ellison described as commitments and concessions to the states involved, expressing openness to a negotiated settlement. California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office rejected that framing in a statement to Deadline, maintaining that the merger as structured would raise costs, reduce competition, lower wages, and shrink the number of movies and television shows produced. Bonta’s team pointed to a July temporary restraining order in which the presiding court indicated the states’ case was likely to succeed on its merits.
The dispute carries financial stakes beyond the courtroom. Paramount has agreed not to close the acquisition until June 2027 or five days after a court ruling, whichever comes first, with a trial scheduled to begin March 2, 2027. Starting October 1, Paramount will begin accruing a $7 million daily fee owed to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders until the deal closes, a cost that could approach $1.2 billion by the time the trial concludes.
Ellison has said he is prepared to begin relocating Paramount’s operations out of California if Bonta does not agree to settlement talks before that deadline takes effect, a threat Bonta’s office has characterized as an attempt to pressure the state.
The lawsuit has also divided entertainment industry unions, with some groups pushing for a settlement involving strict oversight conditions while the Writers Guild of America has called for blocking the merger entirely.
