{"id":465931,"date":"2026-09-16T19:52:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T19:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/465931\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T19:52:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T19:52:11","slug":"paramount-to-leave-california-amid-antitrust-battle-stalled-warner-bros-merger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/465931\/","title":{"rendered":"Paramount To Leave California Amid Antitrust Battle & Stalled Warner Bros Merger"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tLeaks the past few months out of David Ellison<\/a>\u2018s inner circle said the CEO would take his Paramount<\/a> ball and leave California if state Attorneys General didn\u2019t back off on their antitrust suit to stop the $111 billion merger with Warner Bros Discovery<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\n\tAnd now it looks like the ball really is in play.<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount brass have told key officials and stakeholders the company is \u201cdeadly serious\u201d about leaving California and the home of Hollywood after over 100 years, sources tell me. Among those told a deposit ha been put on the moving trucks is the L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and state AG Rob Bonta<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMayor Bass is focused on protecting and fighting for jobs in L.A., including critical jobs in the entertainment industry that have been a vital part of Los Angeles\u2019 economy,\u201d a spokesperson for City Hall told Deadline today. \u201cShe\u2019s been engaged on this issue and will continue to fight to make sure L.A. is home to Hollywood,\u201d the Mayor\u2019s office added, with the core topic being keeping the Paramount corporate HQ and the thousands of jobs it holds in the City of Angels.<\/p>\n

\n\tUp in Sacramento, Bonta has over the past several months called out Paramount for engaging in \u201cblackmail\u201d in its efforts to sway the court of public opinion over the merger. <\/p>\n

\n\tToday, with the exit plans taking more concrete shape, the AGs office said as much again, in many more words. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe cannot comment on a company\u2019s plans,\u201d a spokesperson for AG Bonta told Deadline Wednesday over the moving notice. \u201cIt\u2019s no secret that Paramount has been making this threat, despite its alleged commitment to California and Hollywood. What Paramount decides to do is Paramount\u2019s choice alone. We\u2019ll continue to apply the law without fear or favor and continue to be open to coming to the table for good faith discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount had no comment when contacted by Deadline about the exit plans and how far along they are. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhat no one can be silent on is that the potentially devastating blow to any already ailing Tinseltown industry comes as the mega-merger with David Zaslav\u2019s WBD is trapped in the legal leg hold trap of the July 13 filed antitrust lawsuit from a dozen states and the Writers Guild of America. Even with court ordered settlement meetings set for next month and a hearing next week over Paramount\u2019s desire for a $1.88 billion bond from the plaintiffs to cover \u201cextraordinary losses\u201d the company anticipates, clearly the wait for the March 2, 2027 starting trial was too much and too late for Team ParaBros. <\/p>\n

\n\tEllison\u2019s big move to move comes almost two weeks before the October 1 deadline that had been bandied around in the rumors out of the Melrose lot since the legal battle with Golden State Attorney General Bonta and 11 other blue state AGs over the WBD deal formally went nuclear two months ago. While there are a number of pricey fees in motion under the merger contract, the \u201cextraordinary losses\u201d Paramount have been referring to specifically is the $7-million-a-day ticking fee in the WBD contract that kicks in (surprise surprise) on October 1. <\/p>\n

\n\tDoing the math of the ticking fee adding up to $635 million a quarter and a look at the calendar of that trial date, and the money Para could be on the hook for is very real. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"California<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia Attorney General Rob Bonta left, Paramount CEO David Ellison<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tNow, with all the thunder and lightening of a Paramount departure to a red state like Tennessee and how much of this is another attempt to ramp up the pressure on Bonta to settle, the fact is any exit will have little immediate impact on the antitrust suit\u2019s route through the federal courts \u2014 at least for now. However, among docket disputes over whether or not an injunction on the deal is de facto in place or not, Donald Trump<\/a>\u2018s DOJ weighing in for Para on jurisdiction and the big bucks bond and a possible SCOTUS intervention<\/a>, the optics are very immediate if Paramount really leaves. <\/p>\n

\n\tAs are the punishing economics. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAt a minimum, relocating Paramount\u2019s headquarters and other operations out of California would result in losses of 2,750 and 5,550 job-years in California across all industries and losses of between $1.01 billion and $2.03 billion in economic output between October 1, 2026, and September 30, 2031,\u201d L.A. County\u2019s Economic Development Corporation wrote in a September 10 document. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe third such report from the powerful Board of Supervisors, the EDC missive of last week is very similar to language in a Paramount statement of September 8 detailing harsh consequences if the merger falters. <\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOnce Paramount completed the entire relocation of its headquarters and other operations out of California, the state would experience the permanent loss of approximately 28,990 to 57,980 full-time jobs statewide across all industries, and losses of between $10.6 billion and $21.2 billion annually in economic output,\u201d the Country document says.<\/p>\n

\n\tHolding on to over $80 billion in debt, a melded ParaBros is widely expected to follow the M&A pattern of big job losses, whether the company stays in L.A. or not<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the other side, with Ellison\u2019s promises of 30 flicks a year and long release times, the EDC report also shone a bright light on some good news \u2014 if the lawsuits disappeared or a settlement was reached and merger went through.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cParamount\u2019s post-merger production commitment of 30 features a year for three years would generate a total of between 1,020 and 2,760 job-years in California across all industries and between $377.7 million and $1.01 billion in economic output between October 1, 2026, and September 30, 2031,\u201dthe L.A. County finding estimates.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat math would look pretty good in the Red Zone too, if you know what I mean? <\/p>\n

\n\t
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