By Jody Godoy

Sept 30 (Reuters) – A US judge entered an order on Wednesday allowing Paramount to close its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros, ending a months-long holdup, as the company ‌named Mattel’s Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO to help run the combined business.

US District Court Judge ‌Araceli Martínez-Olguín approved a Sept. 21 settlement with a California-led group of 12 states that had sued to block one of the ​largest media mergers in history, saying it would create a media behemoth capable of driving up film and TV prices.

Under the settlement, the combined company must release at least 30 films a year in US theaters for five years and spend an extra $300 million a year on US production. Falling short of the film quota ‌could force it to sell Miramax.

It must ⁠also negotiate basic cable deals separately for the two companies’ channels and create a board of journalists to oversee CBS News and CNN.

Groups opposed to the merger ⁠objected strongly to the settlement, with some urging the court to reject it.

Martínez-Olguín called the deal a “reasonable factual and legal resolution,” saying objectors’ hopes for the decree “to reach farther – to achieve more – do not rise to the level of ​legal ​violations” warranting rejection.

A spokesperson for the California Department of ​Justice said the settlement “resolves our antitrust concerns…, protects ‌competition and consumer choice, and centers the needs, concerns, and futures of California workers”.

The companies said in a late Wednesday statement that the deal is expected to close on October 6.

The companies also settled a Writers Guild of America antitrust lawsuit, agreeing to pay $17.5 million to the guild’s health fund and maintain WGA staffing levels at CBS News for five years.

MATTEL’S KREIZ TO BECOME CO-CEO

Separately, Paramount said Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz ‌will join on October 5 and become co-CEO when the ​deal closes alongside chairman and CEO David Ellison, running day-to-day ​operations and integration.

Kreiz, Mattel’s CEO since 2018, turned ​the toymaker’s brands into films, TV shows and games, delivering “Barbie,” Warner Bros’ highest-grossing ‌film ever.

The hire gives Ellison, whose background is ​on the creative side, a ​seasoned operator who steered Mattel through the pandemic and tariffs, as Paramount aims for more than $6 billion in savings from the merger.

Before Mattel, he spent much of his career in TV and ​digital media, co-founding Fox Kids Europe ‌and running “Big Brother” producer Endemol.

He later ran YouTube network Maker Studios, which he sold to ​Disney in 2014.

(Reporting by Jody Godoy and Akash Sriram, additional reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil; ​Editing by Franklin Paul, David Gaffen and Vijay Kishore)