{"id":855231,"date":"2026-09-21T08:28:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T08:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/855231\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T08:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T08:28:10","slug":"paramount-suit-settlement-talks-blocked-by-four-state-attorneys-general","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/855231\/","title":{"rendered":"Paramount Suit Settlement Talks Blocked By Four State Attorneys General"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEXCLUSIVE: As Hollywood celebrates Yom Kippur tonight, a framework for a settlement<\/a> of the antitrust suit <\/a>hampering Paramount<\/a>\u2018s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery<\/a> has hit some political potholes, even as some hoped for a quick deal.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tFour of the 12 Attorneys General that took the David Ellison<\/a>-run company to federal court are breaking with the California AG Rob Bonta<\/a>-led faction that wants to put the high stakes dispute to rest, at least for the time being. Along with the Golden State, the blue state coalition that sued Paramount and WBD back on July 13 is made up of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington.<\/p>\n

\n\tA March 2, 2027 trial date has been set in the matter, much to Paramount\u2019s chagrin. <\/p>\n

\n\tNow, as the pressure turns into a court of public opinion vice for blue state reps, it is Minnesota AG Keith Ellison who has taken the reins in resisting an agreement with David Ellison (no relation, but the irony is undeniable). A longtime Democratic powerbroker, the North Star State\u2019s Ellison is joined in the Gang of Four by NY\u2019s powerful AG Letitia James<\/a>, Connecticut\u2019s William Tong and, indications are, Washington state\u2019s Nick Brown.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMinnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison <\/p>\n

\n\tThe quartet is concerned that settlement parameters are \u201ctoo lenient to Paramount,\u201d we hear. The states want Bonta to slow down and not overreact to threats of Paramount leaving California or other external pressures.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpecifically, as more and more fellow Democrats, Hollywood A-listers<\/a> and activists urge rejecting a settlement with the MAGA adjacent Para, the Gang of Four are pessimistic of the power of a proposed CNN Editorial Board. \u201cIt has no teeth,\u201d an individual close to discussions tells Deadline. \u201c(David) Ellison wants a deal, Bonta is feeling pressure to make a deal. Both want an off-ramp. The worry among the four states that have yet to sign off on a settlement is that some \u201cwindow decorating\u201d around CNN plus some cable sell-offs could be enough for Bonta to walk away from the larger legal battle with Paramount after months of hanging tough.<\/p>\n

\n\tOver a weekend of remote talks, as the October 1 deadline for a $7 million a day ticking fee to WBD shareholders gets closer, a variety of items have been discussed. To that, with court-ordered settlement talks already on the books for mid-October, the notion of significant financial penalties if ParaBros fails to keep its theatrical release promises has been floated. There\u2019s also a question of making the two studios completely separate for at least two years as a temporary solution.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs it stands tonight, things are in a state of suspended animation until next week, with one M&A vet telling us the Yom Kippur respite could either \u201cmake or break\u201d the talks going forward.<\/p>\n

\n\tUnited with the AGs from almost the get-go, the WGA<\/a> has been on the sidelines of current talks, we\u2019re told. Yet, with outrage and now protests from the star-studded Block the Merger group (Oakland today, NYC Monday and outside Paramount in L.A. on September 22), the guild has been getting an earful from members, sources say. Additionally, the leadership of the WGA and other Tinseltown guilds have been in contact with NY\u2019s James to \u201cgauge the temperature\u201d around any settlement.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn what one source called a \u201ccivil atmosphere,\u201d the parties have also been very much aware of the busy calendar this week after the holiday. On September 24, a hearing is set before U.S. District Judge Araceli Mart\u00ednez-Olgu\u00edn on Para\u2019s Hail Mary desire for a $1.88 billion bond<\/a> from the AGs and the WGA to cover the \u201cextraordinary losses\u201d the company says it will suffer waiting for the trial to start next spring. The very next day, with the politics of Trump and the midterms never far from anyone\u2019s mind, the AGs and the WGA have to reply to a motion by red states Iowa and Montana to take the whole matter to the Supreme Court.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tNeither Keith Ellison or Letitia James\u2019 offices responded Sunday to Deadline\u2019s request for comment on any settlement or gearing down. Paramount brass and Rob Bonta\u2019s office also had nothing to say tonight about the state of the talks. However, the usually quick with a statement CA AG did post a Yom Kippur message on his Threads account.<\/p>\n

\n\tRead between the lines if you think there is something between the lines: <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts on September 19, the Paramount legal tussle was the talk of the shindig. One well-placed guest said to be in close touch with the parties told several attendees that while a deal wasn\u2019t 100% done, the deep freeze between Bonta and Paramount\u2019s Ellison was \u201cunstuck.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBattling a tough campaign for reelection, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass<\/a> was said to have stated to fellow Lucas attendees that a deal was \u201cclose.\u201d Earlier Saturday, before the Narrative Art gathering began, the once merger-opposing Bass seemed to put her preferences out in the open.<\/p>\n

\n\tDavid Ellison wasn\u2019t at George Lucas<\/a>\u2018 soiree, nor was still WBD boss David Zaslav<\/a>. The Paramount CEO was also nowhere to be seen ringside or elsewhere Saturday night at the Paramount+ streamed UFC<\/a> 331 from DTLA\u2019s Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhether the Force is strong with proponents or opponents of a settlement, one idea certainly being considered for everyone to save face is as a hold-separate arrangement. The corporate mechanism could allow the antitrust suit to proceed, but take the ticking fee financial strain off the deep-pocketed Ellisons and their recently DOJ-approved Gulf State backers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tEven if the companies are held separate in a compromise deal, it would be good news for Paramount\u2019s expense ledger but possibly bad news for its stock and that of WBD. The market has shown over the past two months that it doesn\u2019t like limbo, and neither does the industry, which has grown restless about the damage already being done by the merger delay. (Sworn foes of the merger would argue that a period of stasis is better than what they see as heavier carnage were the merger to proceed.)<\/p>\n

\n\tA hold-separate agreement has been struck before, including in the case of Time Warner and AT&T\u2019s $85 billion merger in 2018. It also factored into Nexstar\u2019s acquisition of TV station rival Tegna, which was opposed by state AGs and DirecTV \u2014 though in that instance it was after the merger had already closed in a still-pending lawsuit.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe past several weeks have seen a constant stream of leaks that Paramount will leave California <\/a>if it doesn\u2019t close the ParaBros deal or get a settlement soon. Even as the ambitious Bonta has cancelled previous settlement talks and called Team Ellison\u2019s tactics \u201cblackmail,\u201d a growing chorus that includes outgoing Governor Gavin Newsom<\/a>, likely next Governor Xavier Becerra, incumbent Bass and IATSE have urged this all be settled \u201cin the boardroom, not the courtroom.\u201d Add to that reports to the L.A. Board of Supervisors is predicting big job losses if ParaBros become a reality. On the other hand, there have also been Paramount-commissioned reports to the powerful Supervisors promising even bigger job losses if the Melrose lot leaves, but an employment and production bonanza if the deal goes through.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith all that, worth noting that AG Keith Ellison\u2019s radio silence today is very different from how adamant Ellison was earlier this summer when he took Paramount to town as the AGs suit hit the docket: <\/p>\n

\n\tIn contrast to AG Ellison\u2019s current silence, ever since reports surfaced of a potential settlement emerged on September 18, Congressional Democrats, many of whom could hold key committee chair roles if their poll-leading party takes control after the midterms, have been very vocal about Bonta and gang\u2019s need to \u201chold the line\u201d against a rushed deal. \u201cWith Trump and his billionaire allies crushing independent media, we need state AGs to stand strong against more corporate media monopolies,\u201d Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy tweeted Sunday. \u201cThe AGs should keep fighting to block Paramount\u2019s illegal merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.\u201d Murphy was joined by dozens and dozens of his colleagues, including New Jersey\u2019s senior Senator Cory Booker.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe long time foe of the merger weaved in the latest attack on the press by Ellison pal Trump in a tweet today: <\/p>\n

Trump just locked CNN out of the White House. Now his billionaire allies want to own it. State attorneys general: Don’t settle. Hold the line. Block this merger.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) September 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tJust sayin\u2019<\/p>\n

\n\tDade Hayes contributed to this report<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: As Hollywood celebrates Yom Kippur tonight, a framework for a settlement of the antitrust suit hampering Paramount\u2018s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":855232,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[18205,7687,88,2013,12472,10580,49710,4208,228983,93508,3291,6493,10343,18220],"class_list":["post-855231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-david-ellison","tag-david-zaslav","tag-entertainment","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-george-lucas","tag-karen-bass","tag-letitia-james","tag-paramount","tag-paramount-wbd","tag-rob-bonta","tag-settlement","tag-ufc","tag-warner-bros-discovery","tag-wga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=855231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}