California AG calls Paramount CEO's relocation threat 'blackmail' over blocked $110bn merger

California Attorney General Rob Bonta accused Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison of attempting to "blackmail" the state, in an 11 August post on his official X account. Ellison told senior executives the board has approved relocating Paramount out of California from 1 October unless Bonta agrees to settlement talks over a 12-state lawsuit blocking the $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery takeover.