Paramount Skydance and California AG to Hold Preliminary Settlement Talks Monday on $111B Warner Bros. Discovery Merger
- Paramount reps and California AG Rob Bonta's office are set to meet Monday to discuss settling the 12-state antitrust suit blocking the $111B WBD merger, which is currently on hold pending a March 2027 trial (Variety, NYT).
- Bonta has said any deal would require 'robust structural remedies' (e.g., divestitures), dismissing behavioral fixes like Ellison's pledge of 30 films a year; merger delay is already triggering a $7M/day ticking fee to WBD shareholders (Deadline, Variety).
- Pressure for settlement is broad-based, with support from the Directors Guild, IATSE, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, Cinema United, and Gov. Newsom; David Ellison has threatened to relocate Paramount out of California starting Oct. 1 absent a deal (Variety, CNBC).