Fox's Gasparino says "Paramount’s (PSKY) CEO has "tricks up his sleeve" to get his Warner (WBD) acquisition cleared in California"

A reported assurance that a bidder has tactics to clear a state-level review is a media leak in the classic M&A mould, and the sourcing matters: this particular reporter has a track record of well-placed deal-side leaks, and leaks of this kind have historically been floated to steady the target's stock, pressure the regulator, or test reaction before a formal remedy package is tabled. State attorney general clearance in media consolidation has tended to resolve through negotiated commitments rather than outright blocks, with divestitures, behavioural undertakings, or local-content and employment pledges as the usual currency, so the operative question is what concession the acquirer is prepared to price in. The distinction worth drawing is between timing risk and completion risk: state-level friction has more often delayed closes than killed them, which tends to compress the deal spread temporarily and re-widen it on each procedural headline. What is worth watching is any filing or docket activity from the state AG's office, whether the regulator responds publicly, and whether the federal antitrust posture moves in parallel, since state and federal tracks on media deals have historically interacted. As an unnamed-source story about intent rather than a formal remedy offer, the informational content is thin; the spread will treat it as directional noise until something is on paper.