Overview
- Multiple outlets reported late this week that Paramount Skydance and California Attorney General Rob Bonta are in confidential, reportedly advanced talks to resolve the 12-state antitrust suit blocking the proposed merger.
- A court hearing on Paramount’s bid to require the states and the Writers Guild to post a roughly $1.88–$1.9 billion bond is set for Sept. 24 and a mandatory two-day settlement conference is scheduled for Oct. 14–15.
- Paramount faces a contractual ticking fee that would begin Oct. 1 and add about $7 million per day to its costs, creating urgent financial pressure to reach a deal before the fee starts.
- Reported compromise ideas include operating the two studios separately for a period, but Bonta has publicly said he prefers structural remedies such as divestitures rather than behavioral promises.
- If talks fail the case moves to a March 2027 trial and the outcome will determine whether regulatory approvals already granted by the DOJ and other jurisdictions are enough for the merger to close.