David Ellison is pursuing a risky courtroom strategy to facilitate his $81 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. After nearly a year of navigating regulatory processes, a lawsuit from the California Attorney General poses a significant challenge. To address this, Ellison has decided to go to trial, aiming to expedite the merger despite complications. Paramount has agreed to incur $650 million in fees if the deal isn't finalized by September 30, resetting Ellison's team to their proactive, strategic mindset as they work towards merging Paramount with Warner's offerings, including HBO and CNN.

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https://www.wsj.com/business/media/david-ellison-paramount-warner-strategy-deal-39a4ba62

David Ellison’s Risky Courtroom Strategy to Save His $81 Billion Warner Deal

After opting to go straight to trial, Ellison’s team adds legal muscle, games out options such as getting states to drop out of the suit to get the Paramount-Warner merger done

Jessica Toonkel

and

Joe Flint

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Illustration of David Ellison playing chess with media company logos and figures as pieces. Jon Berkeley for WSJ

David Ellison spent nearly a year getting his $81 billion hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery inked, past the Justice Department and through regulatory inspection around the world.

After all that, a lawsuit from the California state attorney general to block the deal didn’t seem like the biggest hurdle. But now, to clear that and potentially close the deal far later than he’d hoped, Ellison is making his riskiest and costliest bet yet: going to trial.

Paramount has agreed to pay $650 million per quarter in ticking fees at closing—about $7 million a day—if the deal isn’t done by Sept. 30.

Ellison and his deputies are now back to the war-room mentality that has defined their quest to join Paramount, with CBS and its streaming services, to Warner, parent of HBO and CNN.

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David Ellison’s Risky Courtroom Strategy to Save His $81 Billion Warner Deal

David Ellison’s Risky Courtroom Strategy to Save His $81 Billion Warner Deal

After opting to go straight to trial, Ellison’s team adds legal muscle, games out options such as getting states to drop out of the suit to get the Paramount-Warner merger done

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