Judge approves Paramount settlement deal with states
Judge approves Paramount settlement deal with states
The approval clears the way for Paramount to finally close its purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Things looked quite bleak for Paramount Skydance a few weeks ago, when its impending merger with Warner Bros. Discovery was held up indefinitely by a pair of lawsuits. Two legal challenges to the merger — one brought by a group of 12 state attorneys general, the other by the WGA — have now been settled, however, and the judge presiding over those cases has given her final approval for the merger to close.
Key Details:
- Go ahead: A judge has approved the settlement deal between Paramount and the entities suing to stop its merger with WBD.
- No more waiting: Paramount expects to finish closing the deal on Oct. 6.
- Big appointment: Former Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz has been tapped as co-CEO of the new company.
Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín gave her official consent to the settlement agreement between Paramount and its erstwhile legal opponents on Wednesday. She acknowledged that all parties may not be completely satisfied with the deal, but also reasoned that the settlement avoids the complexity and expense of a long trial.
In a press release, Paramount Skydance says it now expects to finish closing the merger completely by Oct. 6. The company was facing a $7-million-per-day “ticking fee” payable to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders if it could not close the merger by Oct. 1.
The Block the Merger movement, which attempted an 11th-hour play to get Judge Martínez-Olguín to slow-walk her approval of the settlement, released a statement castigating the merger as bad for employment in Hollywood and for the promulgation of different viewpoints.
“Allowing the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger to move forward with no meaningful structural remedies will cost jobs, mute creativity, weaken independent journalism, and damage our First Amendment rights. The ripples of this merger will be far-reaching, long-lasting, and impossible to contain,” their statement said.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has already made some major executive moves. Minutes after receiving the judge’s approval to close, Ellison named former Mattel chief Ynon Kreiz as his co-CEO. Kreiz will take up his new position as soon as the deal closes and will focus on day-to-day management of the company, while Ellison tackles big-picture issues. Ellison has already chosen WBD executive Casey Bloys to head up the combined company’s streaming arm.
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