By Jody Godoy
Aug 24 (Reuters) – California 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, his office said.
Paramount has pushed for a settlement in the case, as it faces a mountain of fees and costs to keep the deal together if the lawsuit continues to a trial scheduled for March. Bonta and his partner states have so far won key rulings, giving them leverage if settlement talks continue.
Bonta accused Paramount of leaking details of a meeting held on Friday and acting in bad faith.
“Not only did Paramount leak the alleged substance of settlement discussions, but they misrepresented these discussions, demonstrating a lack of good faith,” Bonta said, adding his office met with Paramount on Friday. “As soon as Paramount stops playing games and engages sincerely, my office is happy to meet again,” Bonta added.
A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment.
Bonta has repeatedly indicated an openness to settling cases generally. But he has also said that structural remedies, which could include selling off part of a business, are better than companies promising to take actions.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has promised to release 30 movies per year and to keep them exclusively in theaters for 45 days.
California and 11 states sued on July 13, arguing the deal would create a media behemoth with the power to raise prices in film and television.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Bonta planned to ask Paramount to divest some cable channels and commit to keeping its movie studio separate from Warner Bros. before he signs off on their merger, citing people familiar with the matter.
(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru and Jody Godoy in New York; Writing by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Shumaker)
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