Paramount-Warner Bros deal faces final test in settlement talks

Paramount Skydance's fight to buy Warner Bros. Discovery came down to a weekend of closed-door talks.

Negotiations with state attorneys general reached a critical stage over 19-20 September, with a settlement possible as soon as Sunday night. The prize is a $110 billion acquisition agreement reached in late February, reported by Variety.

The lawsuit is the last barrier to closing. A 12-state coalition including California and New York filed a federal antitrust suit in July, meaning the states argue the deal would harm competition. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading the case for the states.

Money sharpens the deadline. If the deal is not closed by 1 October, Paramount must pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders an extra $7 million per day.

Bonta is demanding structural remedies as the price of any deal. That is trade shorthand for permanent fixes such as sales of assets or businesses, not just promises about future behaviour.

Paramount's offers on the table are mostly behavioural. They include chief executive David Ellison's pledge to produce at least 30 films a year, a written commitment to stay in California, and a third-party editorial adviser for CNN and CBS.

Ellison had already promised in a 28 February letter to Senator Adam Schiff and Representative Laura Friedman to keep both legacy studios operating separately. That letter is now part of the settlement discussion.

Timing is tight. The sides were expected to talk on Sunday but pause by evening for the Yom Kippur holiday if no agreement was reached. Activists opposing the merger organised rallies in Oakland, Los Angeles and New York to coincide with the talks.

For viewers, this matters because a studio sale decides who funds films and series. It decides how many get made, where crews are hired, and whether planned stories are finished.

Opposition to a settlement is loud. Actor Mark Ruffalo told Bonta "Don't You Dare" settle the case, according to Variety. Senator Elizabeth Warren said it would be a "massive mistake" for Bonta to settle, in a separate Variety report.

The road here has been long. Paramount launched an all-cash tender offer of $30 per share for Warner Bros. Discovery on 8 December 2025. The US Department of Justice approved the $111 billion deal in June, but the states secured an order halting any merger until five days after a court decision on their challenge or until 1 June 2027, according to the California Attorney General's office.

A Paramount Skydance representative declined to comment on Saturday about the talks. No settlement had been announced by Sunday.