A federal judge on Wednesday approved Paramount's settlement with 12 state attorneys general, which paves the way for the David Ellison-run company to complete its hard-fought $81-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

The settlement, announced last week, resolved an antitrust case brought by the dozen Democratic attorneys general, led by California, which had held up the deal and threatened to stop Ellison's ambitions to create a media and entertainment behemoth.

The company behind hits like "The Godfather," "Top Gun" and "South Park" agreed to invest at least $1.5 billion more in domestic production over five years and commit funds for a workforce-training program for the entertainment industry.

The states and the Writers Guild of America sued in July to block the deal on antitrust grounds. The attorneys general argued that the combination of Paramount and Warner would create too much concentration in the markets for theatrical films and television channels, while the WGA said the combination of legacy media companies would reduce jobs for screenwriters.

The merger would bring two of the movie industry's oldest studios, two major streaming services in Paramount+ and HBO Max and dozens of television networks under one owner. It would also give Ellison a vast entertainment empire that includes franchises such as Harry Potter, DC superheroes and "Game of Thrones," as well as cable networks like CNN and Cartoon Network.

In its settlement agreement, Paramount pledged to release at least 30 films a year for five years. If it doesn't do so, it would have to divest its stake in Miramax and pay $30 million per missed film, most of which would go to supporting workers. And if it doesn't negotiate cable distribution for Warner and Paramount separately, it would have to divest a group of cable channels.

Paramount vowed to create an editorial-independence board to oversee CNN and CBS News, the two news organizations it will control after the deal. Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, the Oracle billionaire and an ally of President Trump. Critics of the deal have suggested the family might interfere with coverage of the administration, allegations that Ellison has denied.

Per the consent decree, within 180 days of closing, the company must create a five-journalist editorial board with authority to resolve disputes involving CBS News and CNN employees over alleged violations of editorial principles, reporting bias and fairness standards.