Paramount Investor Sues Ellisons Over Alleged Trump Side Deal for Warner Bros. Merger
A Paramount shareholder has sued David Ellison and his father Larry Ellison, alleging they struck an illegal side deal with President Donald Trump to secure government approval for Paramount's $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Delaware Chancery Court, claims the Ellisons promised Trump private benefits including funneling cash to settle his legal claims against CNN and firing CNN anchors he dislikes. The suit seeks to block the merger and unspecified damages. It follows separate antitrust lawsuits by 12 Democratic state attorneys general and the WGA. Paramount denies any commitments to government bodies regarding CNN. The merger was cleared by the Justice Department in mid-June over objections from lower-ranking lawyers. The plaintiff, Paul Robbins, is represented by Thomas Law, Public Integrity Project, and Freedom of the Press Foundation. The suit also names Paramount board members as defendants.
Key facts
- Paramount shareholder Paul Robbins sued David and Larry Ellison on Tuesday in Delaware Chancery Court.
- The lawsuit alleges an illegal side deal with President Donald Trump to secure approval for the $111 billion Paramount-WBD merger.
- Alleged deal included funneling cash to Trump via settling his CNN legal claims and firing CNN anchors he dislikes.
- The suit seeks to block the merger and unspecified monetary damages.
- 12 Democratic state attorneys general and the WGA have also filed separate lawsuits to block the merger.
- Paramount denies any commitments to government bodies regarding CNN or other news properties.
- The Justice Department cleared the merger in mid-June over objections from lower-ranking lawyers.
- The merger involves $24 billion from sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, with no CFIUS review.
Entities
Institutions
- Paramount
- Skydance
- Warner Bros. Discovery
- CNN
- CBS
- Oracle
- Freedom of the Press Foundation
- Public Integrity Project
- Thomas Law
- Delaware Chancery Court
- U.S. Justice Department
- U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)
- WGA
- SAG-AFTRA
- Variety
Locations
- Delaware
- United States
- Saudi Arabia
- Qatar
- United Arab Emirates