Paramount threatens to abandon California HQ by October 1 as antitrust fight over WBD merger drags on

Paramount Threatens California Exit as Antitrust Fight Over WBD Merger Stalls

David Ellison told Paramount's leadership team last week that the company has approved relocation plans. If negotiations with California Attorney General Rob Bonta haven't begun by August 1, Paramount will start preparing to move its Los Angeles headquarters out of state by October 1.

The threat is a high-stakes pressure play. Beginning October 1, Paramount owes Warner Brothers Discovery shareholders a $7 million per day ticking fee until the merger closes. California's antitrust trial isn't scheduled to begin until May 2027—almost nine months away—meaning Paramount could accumulate roughly $1.2 billion in payments by the time the case concludes.

Bonta has signaled he will block the deal unless Paramount accepts structural remedies: asset divestitures rather than behavioral commitments like maintaining production levels. He is unlikely to be swayed by promises that Paramount will continue making 12 or 24 films annually.

Moving the iconic Paramount Pictures studio lot in Hollywood would be deeply symbolic—everyone knows the water tower. Ellison already has a five-year plan to relocate most studio jobs out of California, with Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee under consideration as potential destinations. While relocating individual productions to Atlanta or elsewhere might move more dollars around economically, moving the headquarters itself sends a clearer signal about Paramount's willingness to abandon the state.

The merger delay freezes Paramount's integration plans and extends financial pain for the Ellisons. If the case drags on for years, the ticking fees alone become punishing. Ellison is gambling that threatening to leave California will force Bonta back to the negotiating table—a nuclear option that will anger much of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, but one he may see as his only lever.