California May Drive $30 Billion of Business Out of Their State By Blocking Planned Merger

California Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a lawsuit to block the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery — but the move could cost his state $30 billion in economic activity.

Paramount CEO David Ellison is making a bid to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery for $110 billion, drawing the ire of state officials — although the deal was cleared by federal authorities.

Semafor reported on July 13 that “friends and advisers” of Ellison are encouraging him to move the headquarters of Paramount — and much of its “$30 billion in planned spending” — outside of California.

“No decisions have been made, these people said, and the considerations may just be a show of brinkmanship, given so much of the industry’s production takes place outside of Hollywood already,” the report said.

But some characterized Ellison as hesitant to move the headquarters from California, seeing as he spent much of his life in the Golden State and moved Paramount’s headquarters from New York to Los Angeles after he purchased the company last year.

Paramount is blasting the antitrust lawsuit brought by a dozen states, calling it “one of the weakest merger challenges in modern antitrust history”:

• The company argues “competition will remain vigorous” if its proposed $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery is… pic.twitter.com/QLacAOJe3C

— Variety (@Variety) July 16, 2026

Semafor reported that Paramount could use their leased 300,000 square feet of studio space in Bayonne, New Jersey, and further move their work to that location.

Bonta contended in a statement that the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery would lead to “higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television.”

“Consolidation here not only leads to higher prices — it also leads to fewer opportunities for important stories to come to life, and fewer ways for audiences to encounter stories, ideas, and perspectives beyond their own experiences,” he added.

The controversy over the merger comes after several other leading companies have moved out of California due to high taxes and increasing regulations.

The companies that have moved headquarters or significant operations away from the Golden State include Chevron, Charles Schwab, Toyota Motor North America, In-N-Out Burger, Oracle, and McKesson.

Elon Musk’s companies, such as Tesla and SpaceX, have largely left California for Austin, Texas.

The lawsuit from Bonta contended that the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which says that “mergers that may substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly are illegal.”

The complaint asserted that the merger would mean three distributors will control 75 percent of major films.

“Movie theaters rely on competition between Paramount and Warner Bros. to incentivize creativity and secure competitive prices and terms for themselves and for audiences,” the statement from Bonta’s office continued.

“Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. will end this competition, threatening viewers with higher prices, the decline of theatrical exhibition of films, and a reduction in the variety, quality, and amount of content distributed,” the statement said.

The attorneys general of other states — including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington — joined the lawsuit.

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