Paramount-Warner Bros. $111B Merger Faces Mounting Opposition as Settlement Talks Enter Critical Week

Opposition intensified over the weekend to a proposed settlement between Paramount Skydance and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, as talks accelerate ahead of a critical week for the company's $111-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. New York AG Letitia James and at least two other state attorneys general who joined Bonta's July antitrust lawsuit have privately expressed reservations about proposed compromises, including a bipartisan editorial board to oversee CNN under Paramount CEO David Ellison's control. James is not on board with Bonta's proposed settlement, according to people familiar with the matter. A split in the coalition could derail any deal, as Bonta needs all participating states to sign off. On Thursday, Paramount lawyers plan to ask a federal judge in Oakland to require the states and the Writers Guild of America to post a $1.88-billion bond covering delay-related costs. Ellison wants the merger finalized by October 1, when a higher payout to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders is triggered, and has threatened to move Paramount's Hollywood base to Tennessee or Texas if the antitrust battle extends into October.