Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has told his senior executive team that he is prepared to begin moving the company out of California as soon as October unless state Attorney General Rob Bonta agrees to antitrust settlement talks, news outlets report.
Mr. Bonta is leading a 12-state coalition’s antitrust lawsuit seeking to block Paramount’s proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
At an Aug. 5 meeting at Paramount’s studio lot, Mr. Ellison told his 12-member senior executive team that the mass media conglomerate will begin relocating out of California by Oct. 1 if Mr. Bonta declines to negotiate by Sept 30.
Mr. Ellison’s threat to relocate would affect much of Paramount’s studio operations over time. Its Los Angeles headquarters would be the first to move, with tax incentives from other states reportedly helping to offset relocation costs.
Mr. Ellison also outlined a five-year plan to shift most studio jobs out of California, according to sources.
Mr. Bonta responded by calling the threatened exit an attempt to “blackmail the state into letting an illegal deal through,” adding that Paramount “has lost the plot as it continues to lose in court.”
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