David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance is in “advanced talks” with California Attorney General Rob Bonta to resolve a 12-state monopoly lawsuit blocking its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing anonymous sources.
A Paramount spokesman declined to comment. A representative from Bonta’s office said, “Potential settlement talks are confidential. We cannot confirm or deny whether settlement talks are ongoing or their purported substance.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, negotiations are “ongoing and there is no guarantee that a deal will be reached.” According to the Wall Street Journal, Paramount and the California studio “discussed a compromise that would have included Paramount agreeing to operate the two companies’ film studios separately for a period of time, rather than merging immediately.”
However, Bonta has previously said that operating the two companies separately under joint ownership is only a “conduct” remedy and that he is seeking a structural remedy that would require separate ownership.
Related stories: Who is Rob Bonta? Why did California’s attorney general file a lawsuit to block Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros.?
The judge has scheduled the matter for trial in March 2027. If Paramount ultimately prevails in court, the company is asking 12 states and the Writers Guild of America (which has also filed an antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the Paramount-WBD deal) to post $1.88 billion in bonds to cover potential losses from “ticking fees” ($7 million per day starting on October 1) to WBD shareholders. A hearing on the bail motion is scheduled for September 24.
Ellison’s pending $111 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery is funded in part by his billionaire father, Larry Ellison, and the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission approved Paramount’s application to allow foreign entities to hold a 49.5% stake in Paramount if the Warner Bros. Discovery project is completed.
David Ellison has told Paramount executives internally that he is seriously considering moving the company’s operations, including the studio in the long term, out of California if Paramount can’t close its deal with Warner Bros. by the end of September. He raised the possibility of moving the company to Tennessee, Texas or Georgia.