California Rejects Paramount's $1.88 Billion Bond Demand in Warner Bros. Merger Fight

California's attorney general has rejected Paramount's request for a $1.88 billion bond from the states suing to block its merger with Warner Bros., calling the demand a "do-over" on an agreement Paramount already signed.

The California AG's office, led by Rob Bonta, told a federal court on Monday that Paramount is a "sophisticated" company that knowingly included costly ticking fees in its merger contract — and cannot now demand the opposing parties cover those costs. The $1.88 billion figure represents what Paramount says it would lose if the antitrust trial drags on: $1.7 billion in payments to Warner Bros. shareholders plus $190 million in financing costs, according to a Monday motion reported by Variety.

Paramount Skydance has separately stated it is incurring at least $1.3 billion in losses due to the delay, as reported by the Washington Examiner. The company has also threatened to exit California if the attorney general refuses to negotiate, calling the two antitrust lawsuits the only barrier to closing the deal, according to Deadline.

The fight traces back to July, when a 12-state coalition led by Bonta filed suit in federal court to block the Warner Bros.-Paramount merger, valued at $110 billion, on the grounds it would reduce competition in theatrical film and basic cable. New York Attorney General Letitia James later announced a stipulation keeping the two companies separate until five days after the court's ruling, as per her office's press release.

Last month, Paramount agreed to hold off on closing the merger until after the antitrust trial concludes — or until June, whichever comes first. That stipulation included no bond requirement. Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin had initially granted a 14-day restraining order in July, waiving the bond on the grounds that the states were pursuing "important public interests." She set the trial for March 2.

Paramount's Monday motion sought either to amend the delay agreement to include the $1.88 billion bond or, failing that, to dissolve the deal entirely and allow the merger to close. The California AG's office rejected both options. The states and the Writers Guild of America, which filed its own antitrust suit, should not have to post a bond to cover Paramount's contractual losses, Bonta's office argued — particularly when the delay agreement Paramount signed contained no such requirement.

Paramount, for its part, maintains that the 12 states are defying a consensus that the deal poses no competitive harm and should be approved. Variety reports the company argued the states should bear financial responsibility for the delay if the merger is ultimately cleared.

For the crews, writers' rooms, and production staff spread across both studios, the timeline is now set: a trial opens March 2, and the earliest the merger could close is five days after a verdict — assuming the court rules in Paramount's favour.