NEW YORK — The biggest media merger in a generation is finally set to close. A federal judge approved Paramount Skydance's settlement with the 12 state attorneys general who sued to block its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, removing the last legal obstacle to a deal that will reshape the entertainment industry, according to NBC News.

Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín signed off on the settlement Wednesday, days after the states that had sued over the roughly $110 billion acquisition — which includes the assumption of debt — backed off their challenge and reached terms with Paramount, the Washington Post reported. Barring any last-minute surprise, the deal is on track to officially close next Tuesday.

One Company, Every Household Name

The combination unites an extraordinary stable of brands under a single corporate roof: CBS News and CNN, HBO Max and Paramount+, and the storied film studios Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures, according to Deadline. It caps a chaotic year-long battle for Warner Bros. Discovery that saw Paramount beat back a rival bid from Netflix, which had separately agreed to buy just WBD's studio and HBO operations before Warner's board decided Paramount's offer for the whole company was superior.

THE LAST HURDLE IS GONE

David Ellison, Paramount Skydance's CEO and controlling shareholder, has already signaled how the combined giant will be run: Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz is set to become co-CEO of the merged company, a sign that Ellison is importing outside corporate leadership even as his family's Skydance roots remain central to the studio side of the business.

The merger's path here was anything but smooth. State attorneys general had raised concerns about concentrating so much news and entertainment power — including two of cable's biggest news operations, CNN and the Paramount-owned CBS News — in a single company. Their decision to settle rather than fight on, followed by Wednesday's judicial sign-off, effectively ends that chapter of the fight, though scrutiny of the combined newsroom's editorial independence is likely to continue well past closing day.

For now, Wall Street and Hollywood alike are bracing for the integration to come: job cuts, programming consolidation, and a reshuffled streaming landscape are all widely expected once Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery formally become one.