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.
“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. “As soon as Paramount stops playing games and engages sincerely, my office is happy to meet again.”
Representatives from Paramount were scheduled to meet with the California AG’s office on Monday to discuss a potential settlement of the latter’s antitrust suit seeking to block the David Ellison-led media giant’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, an individual familiar with the matter previously told TheWrap.
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.
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.
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