California Democrat AG Rob Bonta Cancels Paramount Settlement Talks Meeting

California’s Democrat Attorney General Rob Bonta abruptly canceled a planned meeting between his office and Paramount Skydance representatives to discuss a settlement of the state’s lawsuit seeking to block David Ellison‘s proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

According to The New York Times, Bonta accused Paramount of leaking misrepresented details from a closed-door meeting held on Friday.

“Not only did Paramount leak the alleged substance of settlement discussions, but they misrepresented these discussions, demonstrating a lack of good faith,” Bonta told the Times “As soon as Paramount stops playing games and engages sincerely, my office is happy to meet again.”

Paramount Skydance representatives were set to meet on Monday with members of the California attorney general’s office.

Two sources confirmed to Politico over the weekend that the two factions would be meeting “Monday for settlement talks in an attempt to resolve the antitrust litigation challenging the company’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta agreeing to the negotiations was seen as response to mounting pressure from California Democrats, after Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), and Democrat gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra have all called for a settlement, fearing that the lawsuit could lead to a Paramount exodus or a loss of work for below-the-line crewmembers.

“As I’ve said before, generally for all of my cases, I prefer to resolve disputes in the boardroom, not the courtroom,” Bonta said on Friday. “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.”

“And as I have further said, any potential discussions about the Paramount-Warner Brothers merger will be unproductive absent robust structural remedies on the table that address our concerns,” he added. “As it stands today, the proposed Warner Bros./Paramount merger will mean higher costs, less competition, lower wages, job cuts, and fewer movies and TV shows. This merger violates long-standing federal antitrust law, and we are committed to enforcing the law.”

Governor Gavin Newsom expressed appreciation for Bonta’s willingness to negotiate.

“There’s some universal sentiment there — if that’s possible,” Newsom said. “What’s the best deal? … That has to be worked through.”

According to Variety, the merger “would consolidate two of Hollywood’s five legacy studios and two of the top three cable programmers.

“Under federal rules, the two sides will have to at least try to settle the case in front of a magistrate judge at some point,” it added. “At a hearing this week, Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin asked the parties to identify two potential magistrates who could oversee mediation by next Wednesday.”

It’s unclear what Bonta will do next. The deal, however, has few major detractors left standing against it. Last week, Cinemark became the latest mega theater chain, along with AMC and Regal, to publicly express support for the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, especially after David Ellison pledged to release at least 30 films a year in theaters with a minimum run of 45 days.