Paramount wants Minnesota, other states to post huge bond that could cost taxpayers

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and 11 other Democratic attorneys general across the country filed suit last month to block Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros.

Now Paramount is asking a judge in California to force the states to post a $1.88 billion bond to cover their losses during a delay in case the merger is ultimately approved.

“This proposed $110 billion merger, the largest in Hollywood history, would extinguish competition between Paramount and Warner Bros. and inflict substantial harm on movie theatres, basic cable distributors, and, ultimately, audiences nationwide,” the lawsuit says. “The merger combines two of the nation’s five major film distributors, leaving only four to control over 85 percent of all wide release theatrical films in the United States. It combines two of the five major owners of basic cable channels, leaving only two (the combined company and Disne...