Paramount CEO David Ellison told a group of the company’s top executives that he will start the process of exiting California on Oct. 1 if State Attorney General Rob Bonta will not negotiate to settle an antitrust suit around the planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Ellison made the remarks at a meeting last week. Details were first reported by Puck and confirmed by Deadline.
Bonta is leading a group of 20 State Attorneys General in the case that is set to go to trial in March of 2027. Oct. 1 is the day Paramount starts to accrue a so-called ticking fee of $7 million a day agreed to in the WBD deal terms if the transaction hasn’t closed by then.
Deadline hears that Ellison was emphatic at the meeting that he does not want to relocate but also doesn’t feel welcome in Paramount’s home state as the company and the AG wage a PR battle. The $111 billion merger has been approved by the DOJ and international regulatory agencies, including in the EU and UK.
The AGs’ suit is focused on antitrust claims in three areas — wide release films, blockbuster films and cable network programming. Ellison has promised the combined studios will release 30 films a year with significant theatrical windows. He said he offered to put that in writing for the AG and otherwise engage in settlement talks around potential concessions. Paramount has accused Bonta of playing politics.
In an op-ed published in Deadline on Monday, the California AG said “Paramount and Warner Bros see the writing on the wall: that they will lose in a court of law. So instead, they are resorting to the court of public opinion. They want to talk about anything but the facts of this case … As disingenuous as it may be, they are welcome to do so.”
Rumors had surfaced months ago that Ellison was considering a California exit if the AG did not soften his stance. Destinations mentioned have included Tennessee, Texas and Georgia.
More to come
