JUDGE APPROVES PARAMOUNT'S $110BN TAKEOVER OF WARNER BROS

A US federal judge has approved a settlement clearing the way for Paramount to complete its $110bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery. Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin of the US District Court signed the consent decree on Wednesday, ending an antitrust challenge brought by a coalition of 12 states led by California. Martinez-Olguin described the deal as a "fair, reasonable, and good faith approach to address the competitive harms" raised by the states. The states had argued the merger would consolidate nearly one-third of all theatrical releases and basic cable programming under one company before dropping their lawsuit in favour of a settlement on 21 September. The combined company brings together Warner Bros Pictures, CNN and the HBO Max streaming service with Paramount's existing assets.

Under the five-year, court-enforceable settlement, Paramount must commit to at least 30 theatrical releases a year in the US, with one report specifying this applies for the first two years, and must keep negotiations with cable providers for Warner-owned channels separate from those for Paramount-owned channels. The agreement also establishes a five-member panel intended to safeguard the editorial independence of CNN and CBS. Paramount is run by David Ellison, whose family has ties to US President Donald Trump; his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, provided major funding and a guarantee to lenders backing the deal. Financing reportedly includes about $24bn in equity from the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Paramount won a bidding war against Netflix in February for control of the Warner Bros Discovery assets, and the Trump administration had approved the deal in June without requiring changes to its business before the states sued.

Ellison has named Mattel chief executive Ynon Kreiz as co-chief executive of the combined company once the merger closes, with Ellison remaining chairman and chief executive focused on strategy, creative direction and technology while Kreiz oversees day-to-day operations and integration. Kreiz, who has led Mattel since 2018, is due to join Paramount on 5 October and take a board seat once the deal closes. Ellison said in a statement that bringing the two companies together marks "a transformational moment for our industry" and described Kreiz as a partner with "strong leadership and the operating firepower this integration demands". The settlement gives the court power to enforce the commitments over the five-year term.