Paramount is demanding California and 11 other states post $1.9B to cover merger-delay costs. A judge will hear the motion Wednesday. The ticking fee on the $110B Warner Bros. deal is $7M a day.
Alpha Score of 54 reflects moderate overall profile with strong momentum, poor value, moderate quality, strong sentiment.
LOS ANGELES – Paramount Skydive demanded California and 11 other states put up $1.9 billion to cover costs if their lawsuit delays the company's merger with Warner Bros., a filing Monday shows.
The media giant wants the coalition – which also includes the Writers' Guild of America, itself suing to block the deal – to pay the bond at a Wednesday hearing. If the states lose their case, the cash would cover fees Paramount says will accrue because the legal fight is dragging out.
The move is the company's most aggressive yet against the lawsuit. Last week, Paramount CEO David Ellison threatened to move the company out of California if the attorney general, Rob Bonta, did not negotiate.
Paramount launched a $110 billion bid for control of Warner Bros. Pictures, CNN and the HBO Max streaming service. The federal government, the European Union and the British government have already cleared the takeover.
Opponents say the combined entity would cut jobs in already-squeezed Hollywood and reduce the number of films produced each year. News groups worry about CNN's independence under the new ownership.
Paramount faces a $7 million-a-day "ticking fee" for Warner Bros. shareholders if the takeover is not done by October 1. The bond demand is a way to shift that risk back onto the states, the filing argues.
A judge will hear the motion Wednesday. The states and the Writers' Guild, which also intervened, have yet to respond publicly to the bond request.
Ellison's family is a close ally of President Donald Trump, which has fueled speculation that political ties could influence the outcome of the state-level fight. Bonta has not indicated any willingness to drop the case.
If the bond is granted, the states would have a direct financial stake in how fast the legal process moves. The clock on that ticking fee starts running in six months.
Drafted by a large language model from the source reporting linked above, then screened by automated publishing checks. It is not read by a journalist before publication. Some articles cite our Alpha Score. Verify prices and figures against the original source. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.