Fed Judge Orders Paramount, CA AG To Schedule Talks

A federal magistrate judge has ordered Paramount and California Attorney General Rob Bonta to schedule two consecutive days of in-person settlement talks at the end of October in the antitrust case challenging Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. 

U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson directed the parties Friday to confer and submit specific dates by the close of business Tuesday. 

Once set, the conference would begin at 10 a.m. on the chosen days and include the Writers Guild of America, which is also a plaintiff. The talks are a standard part of the proceedings and do not guarantee a deal. 

The case is the remaining U.S. legal obstacle to Paramount Skydance’s roughly $110 billion to $111 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery after the U.S. Justice Department and dozens of foreign regulators cleared the transaction. Twelve states led by Bonta, plus the WGA, allege the merger would illegally reduce competition in theatrical film distribution and basic cable programming. 

A 12-day trial is scheduled to begin March 2, 2027. Paramount has pressed for a settlement before Oct. 1, when it begins paying a “ticking fee” of about $7 million a day to Warner Bros. shareholders if the deal has not closed. 

Bonta has said he is open to talks but only if they include “robust structural remedies,” such as divestitures, rather than behavioral promises like a commitment to release a set number of theatrical films. 

Earlier settlement discussions collapsed in late August after Bonta accused Paramount of leaking and misrepresenting confidential talks. Paramount denied being the source of the leaks. The court-supervised conference does not prevent the parties from reaching a separate agreement sooner. If they do not settle, the merger remains on hold under a stipulation that bars closing until five days after a merits ruling or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first.