Paramount Threatens California Exit
Paramount may leave California if AG Rob Bonta's suit keeps blocking its WBD merger.
The reporting
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison is prepared to begin moving the studio out of California as soon as Oct. 1 unless California Attorney General Rob Bonta enters settlement talks over a 12-state antitrust lawsuit challenging Paramount’s $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount’s board has approved relocation planning, with Georgia, Tennessee and Texas among potential destinations. Bonta called the threat “blackmail” and said he would consider structural remedies, but rejected behavioral commitments such as Ellison’s pledge to release 30 movies a year.
Analysis & opinion
Political obstructionMostly Right
California Democrats are using antitrust objections as a political weapon against the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal rather than acting mainly to protect competition. Their resistance is improper and damaging, potentially driven by partisan interests or donor influence while risking the loss of Paramount from California.
