Paramount's new chief is threatening to move his studio out of California if the Golden State's attorney general doesn't come to the table to resolve the high-stakes antitrust lawsuit.Puck News reported Tuesday that Paramount CEO David Ellison is serious about relocating his headquarters to a more business-friendly state like Georgia, Tennessee or Texas if California AG Rob Bonta, who is leading 11 other states to block Paramount's $111 billion merger with Warner Bros.Discovery (WBD), doesn't negotiate a settlement by Oct.
1.According to the report, Ellison is "in contact" with multiple states.Ellison, who will soon be forced to pay WBD a multimillion-dollar "ticking fee" if the merger stays in limbo, remains convinced that Paramount would be victorious in court — except the antitrust trial isn't taking place until March 2027, meaning his company will have to likely fork over at least $650 million quarterly to WBD if nothing is settled until next spring.PARAMOUNT-WARNER BROS DISCOVERY ANTITRUST TRIAL DATE SET; MERGER PUT ON PAUSE OVER LEGAL BATTLEParamount became the first major film studio to speak out against a widespread boycott of Israeli film institutions on Thursday.
(Erik McGregor/LightRocket)According to the report, Ellison could move Paramount — and potentially Warner Bros.if he ultimately merges both companies — out of California "regardless of the eventual outcome of the case." Ellison has even developed a five-year plan that would relocate the vast majority of jobs out of the state while still maintaining a footprint in Hollywood.Bonta slammed the latest Paramount buzz, renewing his accusation of attempted "blackmail" by the studio."In a span of weeks, Paramount agreed to halt the merger until a court decision or until June 2027, asked for a November trial, and is now back with another attempt to blackmail the state into letting an illegal deal through.
Paramount has lost the plot as it continues to lose in court," Bonta wrote on X."It didn't w...