California AG Halts $110 Billion Paramount-WBD Settlement Talks Over Leaks
Updated
Updated · CNN · Aug 24
California AG Halts $110 Billion Paramount-WBD Settlement Talks Over Leaks
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Aug 24
Summary
Monday settlement talks between California and Paramount over the $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery merger were canceled late Sunday after Attorney General Rob Bonta accused Paramount of leaking and misrepresenting Friday discussions.
Bonta said the leaks showed a lack of good faith and said his office would return to the table only if Paramount engaged sincerely.
Any deal would need “robust structural remedies,” Bonta said Friday, signaling demands for divestitures, spin-offs or other changes to the combined company.
The dispute keeps alive California’s role in a 12-state antitrust suit filed last month to block the merger on competition grounds, with trial scheduled for March.
Delay is costly for Paramount: under the merger agreement, it must pay WBD shareholders about $7 million a day after September 30 until the deal closes.