Paramount Settles With State AGs, Advancing Warner Bros. Discovery Acquisition

Paramount has secured a legal settlement pact with state attorneys general, clearing regulatory obstacles around consumer practices and paving the way to close its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery ahead of schedule. Under the antitrust agreement terms, Paramount must increase domestic production spending by at least $300 million annually, preserve existing production lots, and release 30 theatrical films in two years. The resulting combined entity faces around $80 billion in debt. Netflix, having opted out of bidding, gained 2.19% as the combination consolidates rival streaming services Paramount+ and HBO Max.