![The stocks of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery both jumped on the heels of rumours that David Ellison may withdraw his operations from California in the United States [File: Dado Ruvic/Reuters]](/uploads/news/2026_08/2026-08-06t124015z_1005373168_rc20tmaidnlt_rtrmadp_3_warner-bros-dis-m-a-paramount-skydan-britain-1786461498.jpg)
Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison told senior staff he'll move the studio out of California unless the state resolves a lawsuit seeking to block its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, per unnamed sources cited by Puck and Variety. The relocation process would begin Oct. 1 — at which point Paramount will begin paying fees on the unclosed WBD deal — though the studio's prospective future home has not yet been determined. California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the plan an attempt to "blackmail the state into letting an illegal deal through."
