Paramount demands $1.9 billion bond from states opposed to Warner Bros takeover

Paramount studios are demanding from American states opposing the takeover of their competitor Warner Bros a monumental deposit of almost $1.9 billion, to cover the financial losses caused by the procedure, according to court documents filed on Monday.

David Ellison's group is asking California and the eleven other Democratic states opposed to the merger to pay $1.88 billion “by September 30, 2026,” which would be recovered if Paramount wins its lawsuit scheduled for March.

The conglomerate is requesting this bond because suspending the buyout until trial “inflicts substantial costs on Paramount,” according to these documents. Paramount has asserted itself in recent months against Netflix, putting $111 billion on the table to acquire Warner. But this marriage between two of the five largest film distributors displeases a large part of Hollywood, which fears that the merger will cause massive job cuts in the cinema industry.

The operation is currently being challenged in court by 12 Democratic states, as well as the screenwriters' union (WGA). His suspension is a major problem for David Ellison, who has pledged to pay $7 million per day to Warner Bros shareholders if the deal is not completed by September 30.

If a compromise is not found by then, the group threatens to leave Hollywood and California from October 1. David Ellison recently presented a five-year plan setting out the terms of the move, according to sources close to the matter to Variety magazine. The company's headquarters could be relocated to Georgia, Texas or Tennessee, according to these sources. When these leaks took place in early August, the California attorney general denounced an attempt at blackmail. In addition to cinema, the media industry is more broadly concerned about this merger.