Warren Urges California Not to Settle Paramount Antitrust Lawsuit

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts urged California Attorney General Rob Bonta not to settle the states' antitrust lawsuit against Paramount Skydance over its proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, Jack Dunn reported for Variety.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts urged California Attorney General Rob Bonta not to settle the states' antitrust lawsuit against Paramount Skydance over its proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. [Photo: Gage Skimdore Flickr]

Warren linked her concerns about the proposed merger to President Donald Trump's recent decision to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House.

“As Trump tries to ban CNN from the White House, it would be a massive mistake to cave on the Paramount merger,” Warren wrote in a post, according to Variety. She argued that the proposed transaction could create a media company with excessive market power.

Paramount Skydance is seeking to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a transaction valued at about $111 billion.

California and 11 other state attorneys general sued to block the deal on antitrust grounds.

Paramount and the states entered advanced settlement discussions over the weekend, according to Variety and other reports. The talks focused on conditions that could address the states' concerns while allowing the proposed merger to proceed.

Among the issues under discussion were commitments concerning production in California and the operation of Warner Bros. studios. Warren's comments are her political position on the proposed transaction and do not determine the outcome of the antitrust litigation.