Paramount and Rob Bonta to Meet Monday Over Merger Lawsuit Settlement

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Paramount will meet Monday to discuss settling the antitrust lawsuit, potentially clearing the way for the $110 billion merger to go through. It’s unclear whether the talks will actually lead to a settlement. The talks come as the state AGs are gearing up for a March trial against Paramount. Starting Oct. 1, the David Ellison-led media giant was also on the hook to start paying a 25 cent per share ticking fee, which would’ve translated to a payout of $650 million per quarter or $7 million per day. While Ellison and Paramount Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim have publicly expressed being open to a settlement, the CEO has also threatened to move the Hollywood studio’s operations out of California if Bonta does not come to the negotiating table by the Oct. 1 ticking fee deadline. Bonta has called the threat of a move “blackmail,” but has also said he’s open to settlement talks. However, he has called for Paramount to offer structural remedies, such as divestments, rather than behavioral remedies, such as Ellison’s pledge for 30 theatrical film releases per year. There has been a noticeable ratcheting up of pressure on Bonta and the 11 other state attorneys general who have banded together in this lawsuit. Among those who have publicly called for a settlement are California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and the Democratic nominee in California’s gubernatorial race Xavier Becerra, the Directors’ Guild of America and IATSE. The CEOs of AMC Theaters and Regal also came out in support of the merger, as did Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. Newsom previously teased that the two sides were in talks. “I know there are many meetings that are going on. There’s a lot of conversation about what that could look like,” he said. Meanwhile, over 5,000 actors, including prominent names like Jane Fonda, Mark Ruffalo and hundreds of other A-listers, penned a letter opposing the merger. Also speaking out against the merger was SAG-AFTRA, Hollywood Teamsters and the Writers’ Guild of America, the latter of which filed its own lawsuit seeking to block the merger. Bass’ mayoral opponent and councilmember Nithya Raman on Thursday reiterated her opposition to the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger and said it “should be decided in court.” In addition to state AGs and the WGA, a Paramount shareholder and group of consumers filed a lawsuits to block the merger, though the latter was dismissed by a judge. More to come …