Paramount and states ordered into settlement room over Warner Bros deal
A judge has ordered Paramount and the state lawyers seeking to block its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery into the same room for settlement talks on 14-15 October in San Francisco, as reported by Deadline.
The clock is loud here. Paramount faces a $7 million-a-day ticking fee, a daily payment to the seller when a deal runs late, if the merger has not closed by 1 October.
The order comes from Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson. He directed both sides to exchange written settlement statements no later than 7 October and to file attendee lists by 12 October.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta leads the group of 12 attorneys general bringing the antitrust case. Trial in that fight is set for early March.
Money will be argued first. A hearing is set for 24 September on Paramount's request that the plaintiffs post a $1.88 billion bond to cover the ticking fee.
The talks start from a difficult place. Bonta cancelled a scheduled meeting in August after accusing Paramount of leaking details of an earlier discussion, a claim Paramount denied.
The gap between the sides is wide. Bonta has publicly pressed for structural remedies, meaning sell-offs or enforced separation rather than promises about future behaviour, which could include divesting Warner's cable networks and keeping the Paramount and Warner Bros. film studios separate.
Paramount chief executive David Ellison has offered a different answer. He has promised the combined company would make 30 films a year with set terms for theatre release.
Ellison has also warned he could move the studio out of California if the case drags on. That threat matters in Hollywood, where production jobs and studio lots are closely tied to state tax credits and local labour.
The wider regulatory picture favours Paramount. The US Justice Department closed its antitrust probe and cleared the purchase, as reported by Bloomberg, and the United Kingdom's watchdog has also cleared the $110 billion deal, as reported by Bloomberg. Paramount says it has won approval in 68 jurisdictions around the world.
For fans, this means the October room decides whether the court battle narrows. If talks fail, a 12-day trial is scheduled to start on 2 March 2027 for the consolidated suits over the merger, as recorded by the Daily Journal.
