Warner Bros. Discovery Stock News

The deciding factor in California Attorney General Rob Bonta's decision to settle with Paramount and allow its purchase of WBD with minor concessions was political pressure.

Paramount is not leaving California — at least not anytime soon. The settlement of the anti-trust lawsuit filed by 12 state attorneys general calls for the company, which is set to acquire WBD shortly, to keep both the Paramount lot on Melrose and the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank for the next five years.

Critics swiftly decried a California-driven settlement with Paramount Skydance that cleared the way for its $110 billion acquisition ​of Warner Bros Discovery , saying it will hurt competition in Hollywood, failed to protect jobs and lacks substantial concessions from the media conglomerate.

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery rallied after Paramount Skydance reached a settlement paving the way for the media giants' mega-merger.

The potential ownership of CBS News and CNN under one corporate owner has generated months of fear, anxiety and loathing at both networks, but the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery settlement tries to resolve some of the issues with the establishment of an editorial independence board.

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison just confirmed to employees that the company had settled the lawsuits that were holding up its deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta revealed terms of a settlement with Paramount allowing it to acquired Warner Bros. Discovery, but stressed that the agreement is “not a blessing” of the mega-merger. Speaking at a news conference Monday, Bonta detailed a list of items to which Paramount is committed.

Paramount Skydance settled an antitrust lawsuit that was holding up its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.