Paramount ‘Deadly Serious’ About Leaving California as $110B Warner Bros. Discovery Deal Faces Antitrust Fight

Paramount executives have told California and Los Angeles officials that the company is “deadly serious” about moving its headquarters out of the state as its $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery merger remains locked in an antitrust fight.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Attorney General Rob Bonta are among those who have been briefed on the possibility. Bonta leads a coalition of 12 state attorneys general suing to block the merger, while the Writers Guild of America has filed a separate challenge.

Bass has emphasized the threat to entertainment jobs, saying she will continue working to keep Los Angeles “home to Hollywood.” Paramount is considering Georgia, Tennessee and Texas as possible destinations, with the company already exploring commercial real estate in Tennessee.

Bonta has spent months describing the relocation threat as “blackmail” and accusing Paramount of using the prospect of leaving California to pressure officials over the merger. His office has said the company’s position is no secret and that the attorney general remains open to good-faith discussions.

The antitrust case is scheduled for trial March 2, 2027, while court-ordered settlement talks are set for next month. A separate hearing next week will address Paramount’s request that the plaintiffs post a $1.88 billion bond to cover losses tied to delays in closing the Warner Bros. deal.

Paramount says a so-called ticking fee begins Oct. 1 at roughly $7 million a day if the transaction remains incomplete. The company has argued that those costs could reach about $1.3 billion by the time the case is decided next spring. The Justice Department this week urged the court to require a bond covering potential delay costs, though the court still must decide whether Paramount is entitled to the amount it seeks.

The potential economic fallout of a Paramount move has also become part of the fight.

A Sept. 10 analysis prepared by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation estimated that relocating part of Paramount’s headquarters and operations could cost California between 2,750 and 5,550 job-years and between $1.01 billion and $2.03 billion in economic output through September 2031. The analysis was commissioned by Paramount.

A full relocation could have a far larger effect. The report estimated permanent losses of roughly 29,000 to 58,000 full-time jobs statewide and between $10.6 billion and $21.2 billion in annual economic output once a move was complete. Those figures are projections rather than announced layoffs.

Paramount has also pointed to its post-merger production plans as evidence of potential benefits to California. Executives have pledged that the combined company would release at least 30 theatrical films a year, and the same economic analysis estimated that maintaining that level of production could generate between 1,020 and 2,760 job-years and between $377.7 million and $1.01 billion in economic output over five years.

Workforce reductions are still expected as Paramount pursues about $6 billion in merger-related cost savings. The combined company is also projected to carry roughly $80 billion in debt, adding pressure to reduce expenses after the transaction closes.

Paramount remains headquartered in California as the bond hearing and settlement talks approach, with the merger fight now carrying potential consequences for both the deal and the studio’s long-term presence in the state.