Paramount Skydance has reached an understanding with the group of twelve state attorneys general who had taken the company to court over alleged competition issues in the merger with Warner Bros, which has allowed the corporate operation to be unlocked.
The conversations extended over the weekend and, finally, four of the states that were rejecting the conditions of the preliminary agreement sealed with California reversed their stance, which opened the door to the definitive pact, according to sources cited by the Bloomberg agency and as reported by the "Wall Street Journal".
Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and Minnesota had been reluctant to support a possible agreement, but ultimately concluded that the cost of keeping the litigation alive was not worth it without California's leadership in the case.
The details of the pact, which have not yet been publicly disclosed and on which information is expected this Monday, include the establishment of two independent editorial boards for the television networks CNN and CBS, as well as the obligation to release up to 30 films per year, under the threat of a penalty of up to 30 million for each feature film that does not get released.
The lawsuit led a California court to issue a temporary restraining order to halt the merger, after California Attorney General Rob Bonta led a coalition of twelve states to challenge the integration of the two major media and audiovisual conglomerates, arguing that it would cause "substantial harm to movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, to the public across the country" by merging two of the five largest movie distributors in Hollywood and two of the five main owners of cable television channels.
Paramount managed to acquire Warner after the struggle for control of the historic Hollywood studio, once Netflix decided to withdraw from the bidding war. Paramount's offer was 31 dollars per share, which placed the total value of the operation at 110 billion dollars (96 billion euros).
The merger integrates some of the most relevant assets in the communication and entertainment sector, including the television networks CNN and CBS, two major film studios, the streaming platform HBO, and various cable television channels, such as those aimed at children and youth Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. It also brings together franchises and film sagas of global reach such as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Star Trek, or Mission Impossible.