Paramount shareholder lawsuit accuses Ellisons of 'corruption'

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Set us as preferred In the latest lawsuit against Paramount Skydance, a corporate shareholder has alleged corruption at the highest levels of the company, which is battling to complete its $111-billion takeover of rival Warner Bros.Discovery to create a new media behemoth.

Controlling shareholders Larry Ellison and his son David have presided over a firm that allegedly made “illegal promises and payments to secure regulatory approval,” for the Ellison family’s Paramount purchase last summer, according to the shareholder lawsuit filed this week in Delaware court.Larry Ellison allegedly discussed with President Trump how Paramount’s pending Warner Bros.acquisition would result in a shake-up at CNN, states the lawsuit filed by Paramount shareholder Paul Robbins.“The Ellisons [won] the bidding war for Warner Bros.

by promising sweeping changes at CNN and other personal benefits to President Trump,” according to the 59-page complaint.The case was brought on Robbins’ behalf by the nonprofit Public Integrity Project and the advocacy group Freedom of the Press Foundation, which has been critical of the Trump administration‘s policies toward the media.The complaint noted that Netflix withdrew from the bidding in February — the same day Co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos met at the White House with then-Atty.

Gen.Pam Bondi and another top official.

The lawsuit suggests Netflix dropped out after recognizing the challenges of dealing with the Trump administration and that Trump always wanted to see the prize go to Paramount because of his close ties to the Ellison family, who have ushered in more favorable news coverage of Trump and the departure of late-night comedian Stephen Colbert.Hollywood Inc.

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