California cancels mediation session for the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal

Key Points:

• California Attorney General Rob Bonta abruptly withdrew from a planned mediation session aimed at resolving the antitrust lawsuit blocking Paramount Skydance’s $111-billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, accusing Paramount of leaking and misrepresenting confidential settlement discussions.
• The leaked deal points included proposals for Paramount to sell some basic cable channels and keep Warner Bros. film studio separate from Paramount Pictures, terms unacceptable to Paramount CEO David Ellison, who aims to create a Hollywood super-studio.
• The dispute has intensified amid threats from Ellison to relocate Paramount out of California, with prominent Democrats urging Bonta to settle the lawsuit rather than proceed to trial next spring.
• The controversy also involves accusations of antisemitism, with Paramount criticizing actor Mark Ruffalo for his campaign against the merger and Jewish organizations defending the company, while some Jewish leaders question Bonta’s commitment to combating antisemitism in Hollywood.
• Bonta left open the possibility of resuming mediation if Paramount engages sincerely, but no new session date has been set; a court hearing is scheduled for late September.