California Attorney General Rob Bonta has canceled his office’s Monday settlement meeting with Paramount, accusing the studio of leaking details of their impending discussions and acting in bad faith.
“My office was scheduled to meet with Paramount on Monday, Aug. 24. I have pulled down this meeting. As I’ve said before, generally for all cases, I prefer to resolve disputes in the boardroom, not the courtroom,” Bonta said in a statement to TheWrap. “As I’ve also said, if the opposing party in litigation wants to meet in good faith to make a sincere effort to resolve the case, we’ll meet.”
“My office had a meeting with Paramount on Friday. Paramount did not maintain the confidentiality of that meeting. Not only did Paramount leak the alleged substance of settlement discussions, but they misrepresented these discussions, demonstrating a lack of good faith,” he continued. “As soon as Paramount stops playing games and engages sincerely, my office is happy to meet again.”
Bonta is one of 12 state attorneys general who sued to block the $110 billion merger, with a trial alongside the Writers Guild of America set for March. Starting Oct. 1, Ellison must start paying a 25 cent per share ticking fee, which would translate to a payout of $650 million per quarter or $7 million per day until the deal closes.
Representatives from Paramount were scheduled to meet with the California AG’s office on Monday to discuss a potential settlement for the antitrust suit against the David Ellison-led media giant’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, an individual familiar with the matter previously told TheWrap.
The cancelation notably came shortly after the Wall Street Journal shared supposed details from the planned meeting on Sunday night. California reportedly intended to seek further commitments towards Paramount and WB remaining separate studios, as well as divestment from some of the company’s cable channels.
The now-scrapped meeting was only announced on Friday, following public pressure from figures such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. IATSE, the Directors Guild of America, Cinema United, Cinemark, AMC Theaters, Regal, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer and WME Group executive chairman Ari Emanuel have all voiced support for a settlement as well.
Ellison, meanwhile, has threatened to move his Hollywood studio’s operations out of California if Bonta does not come to the negotiating table by the October ticking fee deadline. In response, Bonta called that ultimatum a move of “blackmail,” but still said he was open to settlement talks.
Last week, Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín asked both parties to identify two potential magistrates who could oversee mediation by Wednesday.
TheWrap has reached out to Paramount for comment. The New York Times was first to report the news.
