Paramount and California AG Bonta Reportedly in ‘Advanced Talks’ to Settle Antitrust Suit

Sep 18, 2026 3:43pm PT Paramount and California AG Bonta Reportedly in ‘Advanced Talks’ to Settle Antitrust Suit The two sides have discussed Paramount potentially agreeing to run Warner Bros. studio separately for some period of time, per the Wall Street Journal Getty David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance is in “advanced talks” with California Attorney General Rob Bonta to settle the 12-state antitrust suit that’s holding up its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing anonymous sources. A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment. A rep for Bonta’s office said, “Potential settlement talks are confidential. We cannot confirm or deny whether settlement talks are occurring or their alleged substance.” Per the Journal’s report, the talks are “ongoing and there is no guarantee that an agreement will be reached.” Paramount and the California AG have “discussed compromises including Paramount agreeing to operate the two companies’ movie studios separately for a period rather than immediately combining them,” according to the WSJ article. Popular on Variety However, Bonta has previously said that running the two companies separately — but under common ownership — would be a mere “behavioral” remedy, and that he is looking for a structural remedy that would entail separate ownership. RELATED STORY: Who Is Rob Bonta and Why Is California’s Attorney General Suing to Block Paramount-Warner Bros. Later Friday, Reuters reported that Paramount and the state AGs could reach a settlement “as soon as this weekend.” Among the terms on table are “independent content monitoring of CNN” and a commitment from Paramount for a certain number of theatrical movie releases, per the report, which also cited anonymous sources. Ellison has repeatedly pledged that the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. would release more than 30 films theatrically annually. These concessions, too, represent “behavioral” remedies that Bonta has said he would not accept (and he has also claimed that a spin-off of CNN alone wouldn’t fly, either). A judge has scheduled a trial in the matter for March 2027. Paramount had requested that the 12 states — and the Writers Guild of America, which also has filed an antitrust suit seeking to block the Paramount-WBD deal — post a $1.88 billion bond to cover its potential losses from a “ticking fee” payable to WBD shareholders (starting as of Oct. 1 at a rate of $7 million per day) if Paramount ends up prevailing in court. A hearing on the bond motion is set for Sept. 24. Ellison’s $111 billion pending deal for Warner Bros.