LOS ANGELES — Paramount Skydance has reached a settlement with California and 11 other states that had sued to block its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, removing one of the largest remaining legal barriers to a combination that would redraw the media industry.
The agreement, reported Monday by Reuters and attributed to a person familiar with the matter, includes independent editorial boards for CNN and CBS and a production commitment designed to preserve the output of the combined studios.
The concessions
Under the reported terms, Paramount would face a $30 million penalty for every film by which it falls short of releasing 30 movies in a year. The newsroom provisions respond to concerns that the transaction could concentrate control over two major broadcast and cable-news operations.
A coalition led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued in July, arguing that the acquisition would reduce competition and could give the merged company greater power over prices in film and television. The companies have said the combination would yield about $6 billion in savings.
The state settlement does not end every legal challenge. The Writers Guild of America has a separate suit pending, contending that the deal would weaken writers’ bargaining position, reduce output and depress pay. Paramount has disputed the objections to the transaction.
What happens next
The settlement moves the companies closer to closing before a Sept. 30 deadline, after which Paramount is due to pay Warner Bros. shareholders a daily delay fee. Antitrust authorities in the United States, the European Union and Britain have otherwise cleared the deal.
The agreement’s durability will depend on its final language and on how the editorial-independence and production provisions are monitored. Neither the companies nor the California attorney general’s office had publicly confirmed the reported terms when Reuters published its account.
Source — Reuters, Sept. 21, 2026.
