Paramount CEO David Ellison has warned senior executives that the company will begin relocating out of California from 1 October if state Attorney General Rob Bonta refuses to negotiate a settlement over the antitrust lawsuit challenging Paramount's merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. The threat escalates a bitter public dispute between Paramount and California's top prosecutor as the $111 billion deal, already cleared by the US Department of Justice and international regulators including in the EU and UK, remains held up by a coalition of state attorneys general.

Bonta is leading 20 state AGs in the suit, focused on antitrust concerns across wide-release films, blockbusters and cable network programming, with trial set for March 2027 in federal court in Northern California; Paramount had sought an earlier November date. October 1 is significant because it is when Paramount starts accruing a $7 million daily "ticking fee" under the merger terms, on top of a potential $7 billion termination penalty if the deal collapses. Ellison reportedly said he does not want to move the company but feels unwelcome in its home state, and has offered written commitments to release 30 films a year with theatrical windows as part of settlement talks; states such as Tennessee, Texas and Georgia have been floated as alternatives. Bonta has dismissed similar past threats as an attempt to "blackmail" his office into approving what he calls an illegal deal.