Paramount, California attorney general Rob Bonta and the Writers Guild of America are headed back to the table for settlement talks over lawsuits challenging Paramount’s $111 billion bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
According to a court document filed Tuesday, the parties will meet for two consecutive days beginning Oct. 14 to explore a possible resolution. U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixson will oversee the settlement conference.
The scheduled talks mark a renewed effort to address the legal challenges surrounding the proposed deal, which has been temporarily halted. They also arrive after a breakdown in discussions last month, when Bonta canceled a meeting with Paramount that had been set for the next day. At the time, Bonta accused representatives for the studio of leaking and misrepresenting details from negotiations.
What the parties must bring to the table
Before the Oct. 14 conference, the parties are expected to file brief statements laying out their positions in the case. The filing said those statements should include the grounds for the claims, a candid assessment of each side’s likelihood of prevailing, and a description of the major issues still in dispute.
The statements are also expected to identify any narrower issues that, if resolved, could help move the parties toward a settlement.
Lead negotiators for Paramount, the states and the WGA are set to attend the conference, according to the order. Paramount’s representatives must have full authority to negotiate and settle the case. They are also expected to be ready to address their settlement goals, any barriers to reaching a deal and the possibility of a creative resolution.
That framework suggests the court is pushing the parties toward substantive negotiations rather than a preliminary exchange of positions. Still, the source material makes clear that progress has been slow.
Structural remedies remain a key sticking point
Bonta has maintained that he will accept only structural remedies. Such remedies typically involve companies selling off parts of a combined business.
Paramount, so far, has offered behavioral concessions instead. Those include a pledge to release at least 30 movies with 45-day theatrical windows.
The distinction matters in the settlement posture described in the filing: Bonta’s position would require changes to the structure of the combined company, while Paramount’s current offer would focus on conduct commitments after the deal. The source material does not indicate that either side has changed its position ahead of the October talks.
A separate fight over costs
The scheduling of the settlement conference follows another major development in the case. On Tuesday, the government urged the court to require the states and the WGA to bear the costs of the delay caused by their lawsuits challenging the $111 billion megamerger.
If Paramount prevails on that issue, a $1.88 billion bond would have to be posted. The bond would be intended to cover losses if the studio ultimately wins the case over the deal, which is currently on hold.
In its filing, the government characterized the states’ lawsuit as a secondary enforcement mechanism subject to restrictions that do not apply to the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.
What happens next?
The immediate next step is the exchange of written position statements ahead of the Oct. 14 settlement conference. Those filings are expected to frame the claims, the parties’ view of their chances in court and the issues that remain unresolved.
The two-day conference will then test whether Paramount, Bonta, the states and the WGA can find a settlement path in a dispute that has already slowed the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition and raised a separate fight over who should absorb the costs of that delay.