Paramount wins Warner Bros takeover with settlement

Paramount Skydance emerged victorious on Monday from a legal battle over its US$110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery after settling with a California-led group of US states and a Hollywood writers union, paving the way for one of the largest media mergers in history. The settlement marks a major win for Paramount CEO David Ellison, who battled the states for months to finalise a deal that would dramatically concentrate power across Hollywood's film, TV, streaming and news businesses. Paramount agreed to abide by temporary film quotas and a news oversight committee, avoiding a forced sale of cable assets such as CNN or any of its lucrative film franchises. The settlement delighted Warner Bros shareholders, but drew criticism from opponents of the merger who say it will hurt Hollywood jobs. The Writers Guild of America settled its parallel case against Paramount, while saying it still believes the deal will damage the industry. The states' settlement forced the union to "contend with the reality of forging ahead alone, with no backing from government enforcers" in a complex case that would have cost millions of dollars. California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the settlement "a strong antitrust outcome." "More production, more choice, and guardrails that keep this industry competitive....