Paramount Shareholder Sues Ellisons Over $111 Billion Warner Deal, Alleging Illegal Promises to Trump
Updated
Updated · Los Angeles Times · Jul 16
Paramount Shareholder Sues Ellisons Over $111 Billion Warner Deal, Alleging Illegal Promises to Trump
3 articles · Updated · Los Angeles Times · Jul 16
Summary
A Delaware shareholder suit accuses Larry and David Ellison of using illegal promises and payments to win regulatory approval for Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The 59-page complaint says Larry Ellison discussed a CNN shake-up with President Trump and that Paramount offered broader benefits as it sought clearance for both the Ellisons’ Paramount purchase and the Warner deal.
Paramount rejected the allegations as recycled, saying no commitments were made to any government body about CNN or other news assets beyond a goal of “truth-based journalism.”
The case lands amid two other lawsuits this week: 12 Democratic state attorneys general and the Writers Guild are separately trying to block the merger over consolidation, jobs and pay concerns.
The broader fight centers on whether political influence helped clear a debt-heavy deal that the Justice Department approved last month despite reported antitrust concerns from career staff.