Paramount’s M&A win seals showbiz’s Hamilton fever

Settlements aimed at such finicky behavior-policing have a rough track record. Microsoft MSFT.O signed a consent decree with Uncle Sam in 1994 related to its licensing practices. The Department of Justice later sued to break up the software giant, which resulted in another consent decree. Comcast CMCSA.O made a similar handshake with regulators when it bought NBC Universal, only for Bloomberg to file a complaint citing anti-competitive conduct. Meta Platforms’ oversight board, implemented to address content grievances, seems to have done little to keep the company out of controversy.

Such an exercise in futility is to be expected, given states’ track record. When federal enforcers approved the acquisition of wireless carrier Sprint by T-Mobile US TMUS.O, local attorneys again sued to prevent the merger themselves. Their case failed.