California AG Bonta Calls Ellison Desperate in $2 Billion Paramount-Warner Merger Fight
Updated
Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Aug 19
California AG Bonta Calls Ellison Desperate in $2 Billion Paramount-Warner Merger Fight
3 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Aug 19
Summary
Rob Bonta said David Ellison is "desperate" and "grasping at straws," dismissing Paramount’s latest bid to make taxpayers cover nearly $2 billion in ticking-fee exposure tied to the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
Bonta said the judge already rejected a bond request, that Paramount voluntarily accepted the fee structure and a delayed closing until 2027, and that Ellison’s threat to leave California would not weaken a lawsuit brought by 12 state attorneys general.
Settlement remains possible, he said, but only through structural remedies such as divesting assets or channel groups—not behavioral promises like Ellison’s floated commitment to release 30 theatrical films.
Bonta also brushed off Paramount’s public-relations campaign and recent calls for a settlement from IATSE, the DGA and Cinema United, arguing the case is a straightforward antitrust challenge and that time pressure is largely self-inflicted by the companies.
With a March trial looming, the interview underscored how the states are trying to keep leverage over a merger that could still face divestitures, mounting delay costs and a courtroom showdown.