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California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Tuesday that he is open to reengaging with Paramount over settlement talks, provided the company is able to “put a lid on their lying leaks.”
Bonta initially agreed to meet
Monday at Paramount’s request, as the company seeks to resolve the 12-state antitrust case that has blocked it from acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery. But Bonta canceled the meeting late Sunday night, after news reports emerged about the meeting.
As of Tuesday morning, Bonta said, “we don’t have anything scheduled.”
“If they are willing to clean things up, put a lid on their lying leaks, and engage in a way that is sincere and in good faith, we will be… happy to meet,” he said. “But they need to take care of the problems and the leaks that they have on their team.” Bonta spoke Tuesday after a press conference about fentanyl and gun seizures at the attorney general’s office in downtown Los Angeles.
Paramount has denied that it was the source of the leaks. A company spokesperson said that “we remain hopeful and stand ready to continue good-faith discussions to resolve the Attorney Generals’ suit inclusive of structural remedies to move forward with our transaction.” (Paramount has not explained what “structural remedies” it is open to discussing.) In addition, Paramount has pledged to continue to make at least 30 films a year for the next three years, but Bonta has dismissed such “behavioral” commitments as unenforceable.
Bonta has said many times than any negotiated resolution would have to include “robust structural remedies” in all three markets where the states have raised anticompetitive concerns — basic cable distribution, wide-release theatrical distribution, and blockbuster film distribution.
In response to questions, Bonta said that Paramount had crossed a line by mischaracterizing the substance of the conversations. He said that such talks be confidential so that both sides can explore creative solutions in good faith, and that Paramount had violated the “rules of engagement.”
“That is amateur hour,” he said. “That is playing games. We don’t play games. You want to have a adult, legitimate, serious settlement discussion? No problem. You want to play games? We got better things to do.”
The states have an agreement in place to block the merger at least through the trial next spring, by which point Paramount will have incurred roughly $1.3 billion in “ticking fees” to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders.
“They reached out,” Bonta said, referring to the Paramount camp. “You know, some people use the word ‘desperate,’ but they really, really, really wanted to have these meetings. And then they messed it all up by the way they conducted themselves.”
Bonta has also faced pressure to reach a settlement from industry stakeholders and California political leaders. Asked Tuesday about the likelihood that the case goes to trial, Bonta said, “You should ask Paramount.”
“We could be done tomorrow if they were willing to provide the robust structural remedies,” he said. “If they’re going to drag their feet and keep talking about 30 films and never talk about anything else, then we’re going to trial.”
