California Attorney General Rob Bonta has canceled a planned Monday meeting with Paramount representatives aimed at settling the state's antitrust challenge to the studio's proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Bonta's office accused Paramount of leaking details of a prior private discussion and acting in bad faith, prompting the cancellation of what had been scheduled as preliminary settlement negotiations.
The lawsuit, filed last month, was brought by California and 11 other states seeking to block the deal. The states allege the merger would reduce competition in film distribution and cable television, potentially raising consumer prices and depressing worker wages.
Before approving the merger, Bonta is expected to demand that Paramount divest certain cable channels and keep its movie studio operationally separate from Warner Bros. The collapse of talks adds uncertainty to the timeline of one of Hollywood's largest proposed combinations.