Warner Bros merger: California's AG cancels meeting with Paramount
What's the story
California's Attorney General Rob Bonta has canceled a meeting with Paramount Skydance executives today, The New York Times reported. The meeting was scheduled to begin settlement talks related to the state's lawsuit against Paramount's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Bonta accused the company of acting in bad faith and leaking information from a previous meeting held on August 21.
Accusations
What did Bonta say?
Bonta accused Paramount of leaking details and misrepresenting the substance of their settlement talks.
He said, "Not only did Paramount leak the alleged substance of settlement discussions, but it misrepresented these discussions, demonstrating a lack of good faith."
The meeting was supposed to be an initial discussion with no guarantee it would lead to substantive settlement talks.
Concerns
Bonta would only accept structural remedies to resolve lawsuit
The proposed $110 billion merger, the largest in Hollywood history, would combine two of Hollywood's five main film distributors and basic cable channel owners.
Bonta previously said he would only accept structural remedies to resolve the lawsuit, which generally require companies to divest certain parts of their combined business.
This could include divestitures of some cable channels and safeguards keeping Paramount's movie studio separate from Warner Bros.
Legal action
California and other states sued to block Paramount's acquisition
Last month, California and 11 other US states sued to block Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros.
They alleged that the deal would reduce competition in film distribution and cable television, harming theaters and pay TV distributors.
Some states argued it would raise consumer prices and make wages less competitive for workers.