Exclusive | Paramount Skydance expects New York, California will sue to block $81B merger with Warner Bros. Discovery: sources

Paramount Skydance is bracing for opposition to its $81 billion takeover of Warner Bros.Discovery – expecting that a duo of left-wing attorneys general will argue the tie-up violates antitrust laws that are allegedly being ignored by the White House, On The Money has learned.Executives at the media giant run by David Ellison and his father, the mega billionaire Trump-friend Larry Ellison, “wake up every day thinking a lawsuit is being filed” by California AG Rob Bonta, New York’s Tish James and possibly a handful of other state AGs, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.A quirk in US antitrust law allows states in some cases to override DOJ decisions, particularly if the state is big enough where the companies have significant business interests.

California, for all of its woes with businesses exiting the state, is still nominally the home of the entertainment industry.New York, left-wing warts and all, remains the financial capital of the country.People at Paramount Skydance expect a joint lawsuit, with California taking the lead given it’s the headquarters of Hollywood, where a coalition of actors, studio types and left-wing activists have opposed the deal on the grounds that it will lead to fewer jobs.

There’s also the fact that the Ellisons are seen as friendly to Trump, whom West Coast elites despise.   I am told the Ellisons are ready to play a long game in the courts and win on the merits.The delay, however, will be costly.

They believe a swift merger approval will lead to savings and eventually more jobs, more movies, and more money for the Hollywood lefties who are opposing the deal.A delay will likely lead to cutbacks in all of the above.Reps for Bonta had no comment, while those for James had no immediate comment.

A Paramount Skydance rep had no comment.Both New York and California have launched investigations into the deal, as On The Money has reported.After Trump’s antitrust cops at the DOJ greenlit the deal on a feder...