Paramount Skydance and a coalition of state attorneys general will sit down for court-ordered settlement talks at the end of October, giving the two sides their first scheduled opportunity in months to resolve litigation blocking the company’s $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixson set the two-day, in-person conference during a virtual hearing, directing Paramount, Warner Bros. and the states to submit proposed dates and an agenda ahead of the sessions, which will begin at 10 a.m. Pacific time each day in San Francisco. The Writers Guild of America West, which filed a separate lawsuit seeking to block the deal, will also take part in the negotiations.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta leads a coalition of twelve states that sued in July, arguing the merger would weaken competition across theatrical exhibition and basic cable, raise costs for consumers and threaten jobs. The Justice Department and British regulators have already cleared the deal, and Paramount has said it remains willing to work toward a resolution that would let the transaction close. A spokesperson for Bonta’s office cautioned that the court-ordered meeting does not signal a settlement is close, calling it standard procedure for a case of this size.
The talks arrive under mounting financial pressure. Paramount owes Warner Bros. shareholders a $7 million daily fee starting October 1 if the merger has not closed by then, a penalty the company has called its deadline for reaching a deal with Bonta. Paramount has also asked the court to require the states to post a $1.88 billion bond covering its costs while the case remains unresolved. An earlier attempt to negotiate collapsed in August, when Bonta canceled a planned meeting after accusing Paramount representatives of leaking details of prior discussions to reporters, an allegation the company denied.
Bonta has said publicly he would consider a settlement only if it includes substantial structural remedies, meaning the divestiture of significant assets from the combined company. Absent an agreement, the dispute heads to trial in March 2027, a timeline that leaves Skydance chief David Ellison’s broader plans for the combined studio, including any moves involving DC properties, on hold until the litigation resolves.
