California Cancels Talks With Paramount Over Warner Bros Merger, NYT Reports

This story has been updated. An earlier version had indicated Paramount and California state officials were set to meet on Monday to discuss a potential settlement path.

California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta canceled a meeting with Paramount Skydance representatives scheduled for Monday to begin settlement talks over the state’s lawsuit seeking to block Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the New York Times reported.

Citing a statement from Bonta’s office, the newspaper said he accused Paramount of leaking details of a meeting held on Friday and acting in bad faith.

Here are some details:

“Not only did Paramount leak the alleged substance of settlement discussions, but they misrepresented these discussions, demonstrating a lack of good faith,” the report said, citing the statement.
Paramount and the California Attorney General’s office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment outside regular business hours.
The New York Times reported on Saturday talks between the two parties were preliminary, and there was no assurance that they will lead to meaningful negotiations toward a settlement.
Last month, California and 11 states sued to block Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, alleging the deal would lessen competition in film distribution and cable television, harming theaters and pay TV distributors.
States including New York, Arizona and Minnesota argued the deal would harm theaters and television distributors, raise prices for consumers and make wages less competitive for workers.

(Reporting by Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)