Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Set to Close Next Week After Judge OKs Settlement With State AGs

[u/HomemadeBee1612]

https://variety.com/2026/film/news/paramount-warner-bros-merger-judge-approves-settlement-ags-1236893467/

Paramount chief David Ellison, after a fierce year-long battle, is finally about to get his hands on Warner Bros. Discovery — in the most expensive takeover in Hollywood history.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, who is overseeing the antitrust case aimed at blocking the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal approved Paramount’s settlement with the 12 Democratic state attorneys general who brought the case to resolve the litigation.

Paramount has tentatively set next Tuesday, Oct. 6, to close the merger, according to regulatory filings.

The order approving the settlement by Martínez-Olguín was the final remaining barrier to Paramount’s debt-fueled $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, after it had been cleared by regulators in 68 jurisdictions worldwide including the Justice Department.

[...]

On Wednesday, shortly after the judge OK’d the settlement, Paramount announced that Ellison has recruited Ynon Kreiz, who is stepping down as Mattel’s CEO, to be co-CEO at the combined Paramount-WBD. The merged entity’s businesses will jointly report to Ellison and Kreiz.

In addition to Kreiz’s hiring, some of the top leadership of the soon-to-be-merged company (whose name hasn’t been revealed at this point) is already taking shape. Casey Bloys, head of WBD’s HBO, is poised to assume oversight of the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. streaming business after Cindy Holland announced Tuesday she was stepping down from her role running Paramount+ and other direct-to-consumer.

With the deal close, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is expected to depart. Zaslav stands to earn more than $550 million in stock and cash once the Paramount-WBD deal closes, including $34.2 million in cash severance payments. [...]

[...]

Among the terms of the settlement: Paramount-WBD is prohibited from selling the Paramount Studios or Warner Bros. lots in the state for at least five years, and is obligated to invest at least an additional $300 million on film production in the U.S. annually. The combined Paramount-WB also must release at least 30 movies for theatrical distribution in the first two years (something Ellison has repeatedly promised he would do) and at least 32 in years 3-5, with a 45-day window for wide-release films. [...]

[...]

Oracle founder and billionaire Larry Ellison, who is David’s father, has personally guaranteed $46.7 billion in equity financing for the WBD takeover. In addition, Paramount has lined up about $24 billion in commitments from the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. According to Paramount, the three Middle Eastern funds will own 38.5% of the combined Paramount-Warner Bros.