Paramount, Atty. Gen. Bonta to meet for merger settlement talks

Key Points:

• Paramount Skydance and California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s representatives will hold court-ordered settlement talks on October 14-15 to address the legal battle over David Ellison’s $111-billion Warner Bros. Discovery takeover.
• Bonta and 11 other Democratic state attorneys general sued to block the merger, which would combine major media brands like HBO, CBS, CNN, and Paramount studios, while Ellison’s team has applied political pressure to halt the lawsuit.
• The U.S. Justice Department, which previously approved the merger without concessions, filed a statement supporting Paramount, arguing that state plaintiffs face higher legal hurdles and requesting a $1.88-billion bond to cover potential fees if the deal fails.
• Paramount’s chief legal officer Makan Delrahim, former Trump antitrust chief, is leading the campaign for the merger, which has already cleared over 65 international regulatory approvals and awaits FCC approval on foreign ownership terms.
• The lawsuit by Bonta remains the key obstacle to closing the deal, which has drawn political interest including from former President Trump, who supports Ellison’s efforts to influence Warner properties like CNN.