Antitrust actions & laws

Calif. Attorney General Bonta Cancels Paramount Talks

Are Bonta's decisions part of a principled antitrust stand or a politically motivated power play?

Published AUG 24

Calif. Attorney General Bonta Cancels Paramount Talks

Story

Above: Rob Bonta in Oakland, Calif. on Aug. 18. Image credit: Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images

The Facts

California Attorney General Rob Bonta canceled a planned Monday meeting with Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, accusing Paramount of leaking details of a Friday prep session and acting in bad faith ahead of scheduled settlement talks.
The Wall Street Journal
The New York Times
Bonta is currently leading a coalition of 12 state attorneys general who are suing to block Paramount's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, alleging the deal would reduce competition in film distribution and cable television and raise costs for consumers.
Variety
Reuters
The U.S. Dept. of Justice (DOJ) approved the planned merger one month before the multistate suit was filed in July, concluding that it does not harm U.S. consumers. A federal judge later temporarily paused the deal, saying that states had raised serious questions about its impact.
Forbes
UPI
Paramount agreed to postpone closing the deal until after an antitrust trial scheduled for March, while the company faces a ticking fee of roughly $7 million per day owed to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders for each day after Sept. 30 that the deal remains unclosed.
Axios
CNN
This comes after The Wall Street Journal reported that Bonta may seek Paramount's divestiture of some cable channels and a commitment to keep its movie studio separate from Warner Bros., terms Paramount is considered unlikely to accept given its reliance on cable revenue.
The Wall Street Journal
CNN

Sources Split

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RIGHT

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The Spin

Left narrative

Bonta was right to walk away from this meeting. This merger is a billionaire power grab that will cost thousands of jobs and drive up costs for everyday Americans. The antitrust case is rock-solid, and no amount of astroturf campaigns or political pressure from Trump-aligned insiders should water it down.

The Contrarian

Mark Ruffalo on X

Matt Stoller on X

Right narrative

This was a transparent political stunt dressed up as principle by Bonta. Fellow California Democrats are pleading with him to settle because real Hollywood jobs are on the line. This lawsuit was really about leveraging the Attorney General's office to punish political enemies and reward the right donors.

Spencer Pratt on X