Paramount Considers CNN Sale to Resolve Warner Bros. Merger Lawsuit

Paramount is reportedly considering selling CNN, which is owned by Warner Bros., to resolve legal disputes surrounding its merger with Warner Bros., Reuters reported on the 12th (local time).

According to Reuters, Makan Delrahim, Chief Legal Officer (CLO) of Paramount, stated at the "California Agenda" conference hosted by the political media outlet Politico on the 11th that "all options, including the sale of CNN, are under review."

This remark was made with the intention of resolving an antitrust lawsuit filed by 12 states, including California and New York, which oppose Paramount's acquisition of Warner.

Reuters noted that regulatory authorities in the United States, China, and the United Kingdom had previously approved Paramount's acquisition of Warner, leaving the state government lawsuit as the final hurdle blocking the merger.

In the lawsuit, the 12 states argue that the merger between Paramount and Warner would create a "media giant," potentially driving up prices and worsening competition in the film and television markets.

In response, Paramount proposed releasing 30 films annually, but state authorities dismissed this as a non-binding promise and countered that even if the promise is kept, market dominance issues would still remain.

Meanwhile, CLO Delrahim stated that Paramount's headquarters and operations could potentially leave California.

This marks the first time a top-ranking Paramount official has directly mentioned the possibility of relocation.

California is playing a leading role in the state government lawsuit.

"When the time comes to fulfill our fiduciary duty to shareholders, we will consider relocating our headquarters elsewhere," he said, adding, "If I were the governor of California, I would not want major corporations like Paramount to relocate to other states."

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.