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California Attorney General Rob Bonta has canceled planned settlement talks with Paramount over the state’s lawsuit seeking to block David Ellison’s proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, accusing
Paramount of acting in bad faith, according to The New York Times.
Bonta is leading a coalition of 12 states in challenging the proposed merger and asking the court to block the deal, arguing the merger would give the company too much power across cable television and movie production.
The two sides had been due to meet Monday for preliminary discussions for a possible settlement, but Bonta called off the meeting late Sunday, after accusing Paramount of misrepresenting details of an earlier meeting held on Friday.
“Not only did Paramount leak the alleged substance of settlement discussions, but they misrepresented these discussions, demonstrating a lack of good faith,” Bonta said in a statement sent to The New York Times. “As soon as Paramount stops playing games and engages sincerely, my office is happy to meet again.”
Variety has reached out to the California AG office for comment.
The canceled meeting had been perceived as a possible opening toward resolving the case, particularly after Paramount threatened to leave California. Bonta has so far insisted that any settlement would require “structural remedies,” likely involving asset sales, which Paramount may resist.
Pressure to resolve the dispute is growing ahead of the antitrust trial scheduled for March. As Variety previously reported,Paramount will begin accruing a “ticking fee” owed to shareholders amounting to about $7 million per day starting Oct. 1 if the deal has not closed.
