(Updated with California Attorney General statement) After weeks of speculation about Gavin Newsom‘s true position on Paramount‘s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery and the antitrust suit filed a coalition of state attorneys general, the outgoing governor of California finally weighed in publicly today.
His comments come as it appears that Paramount representatives and state attorneys general offices are said to be meeting face to face on Monday, Deadline has confirmed. However, the depth and scope of the August 24 meeting is unclear, sources tell us. “This is mandated under the mediation procedure,” an insider told Deadline on Friday.
Earlier this week, a status conference hearing before Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin determined future dates in the contentious proceedings and stipulated that the parties engage in mediation before a magistrate judge — as is common in the federal system for cases like this.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta certainly isn’t publicly treating the talks of talks as any big deal, at least not right now.
“As I’ve said before, generally for all of my cases, I prefer to resolve disputes in the boardroom, not the courtroom,” the re-election seeking AG said late Friday after news of August 24 settlement talks were revealed. “As I’ve also said, if the opposing party in litigation wants to meet in good faith to make a sincere effort to resolve the case, we’ll meet. And as I have further said, any potential discussions about the Paramount-Warner Brothers merger will be unproductive absent robust structural remedies on the table that address our concerns.”
Sounding a lot like the antitrust complaint of last month he helped write, as well as two reports for the LA County Board of Supervisors from the regions’ Department of Economic Opportunity looking at the fallout from the merger, Bonta added: “As it stands today, the proposed Warner Bros./Paramount merger will mean higher costs, less competition, lower wages, job cuts, and fewer movies and TV shows. This merger violates long-standing federal antitrust law, and we are committed to enforcing the law.”
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As leaks have poured out of the Melrose lot of late that CEO David Ellison is considering decamping his company to a red state if the suit isn’t settled, potential 2028 POTUS contender Newsom said earlier Friday he takes the Golden State exit threat “seriously.”
“We’re hoping that doesn’t happen,” Newsom said Friday of Paramount potentially relocating to Tennessee, Texas or Georgia. “And I’m of the belief they don’t want that to happen. It’s not, I don’t think, in the company’s long-term interest, but I take it seriously.
“I’m concerned about the state, our reputation,” the two-term Democrat added at an event today.
Reports have emerged during the past month that Newsom would like to see a settlement deal struck between the AGs and defendants Paramount and Warner Bros rather than the whole affair heading to trial. The governor’s office has neither confirmed nor denied Newsom’s POV, but until today he was one of the few voices silent on the merger and the lawsuits.
With Paramount attempting to achieve a court order for a $1.88 billion bond and a looming $7 million-a-day ticking-fee deadline, a trial has been set for March 2 in federal court in Oakland.
As well as addressing Paramount’s purported temper tantrum about an exodus from California, Newsom today also offered some guidance on his thoughts about the lawsuit fronted in some ways by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
RELATED: California AG Rob Bonta Open To Structural Remedies In Paramount-WBD Suit But Calls 30 Movies A Year An “Old, Stale Promise”
Echoing Bonta’s words that the whole matter could be settled in the boardroom not the courtroom, the governor added: “I think there’s some universal settlement there, if that’s possible. The question is [whether] that’s possible and what’s the best deal … that has to be worked through.”