Paramount nears merger settlement, but some key state AGs are not on board yet

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Paramount is in advanced talks with state attorneys general to resolve the antitrust lawsuit blocking its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company.

But the talks are creating divisions among some of the Democratic states that brought the lawsuit two months ago, sources tell CNN.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who has been leading the 12-state coalition, has been pressing to strike a settlement deal with Paramount in recent days.

However, some of the states are not yet on board. New York Attorney General Letitia James has been resisting the deal terms and seeking additional protections for workers, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Connecticut and at least two other states also have reservations about the settlement and are not currently on board. The holdouts are seeking additional remedies from Paramount.

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The Connecticut attorney general William Tong is “fighting to preserve the independence of CNN and CBS News,” another person familiar with the negotiations said.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are confidential and subject to change.

If a settlement deal is not reached, the antitrust case will go to trial in California next March — an extended delay that could potentially jeopardize the deal altogether.

Political calculations loom large: James, Bonta, Tong and some of the other state AGs are up for reelection this November.

James, for one, represents thousands of New Yorkers who work at Paramount and Warner.

The person familiar with the matter said James’ office has been in touch with at least half a dozen impacted unions during the settlement talks.

Bonta has been under intense pressure, including from some usual allies, over Paramount’s reported threats to leave California. L.A. mayor Karen Bass — who is locked in a tough reelection campaign — spoke out last week and said “I’m going to fight like hell” to keep film and TV production in the city.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the advanced settlement talks, and Status first reported on New York and Connecticut’s reservations. In response, Bonta’s office said it would not “confirm or deny whether settlement talks are occurring or their alleged substance.”

Potential concessions from Paramount could include independent content monitoring of CNN and commitments on theatrical releases, Reuters reported, along with keeping the two film studios’ operations separate for a period of time, according to the Journal.

Reports of a looming settlement have raised concern among opponents of the merger, which would create a new Hollywood colossus, uniting Paramount and Warner’s movie studios; dozens of television channels; and the CBS News and CNN news operations.

Some opponents have questioned the motives of Paramount CEO David Ellison and his billionaire father Larry Ellison, the Oracle executive chairman. Larry is a longtime ally of President Trump and David has cultivated close ties to the Trump White House while trying to turn his relatively small production company into a global media giant.

Trump’s Justice Department reviewed the merger and allowed it to proceed without any concessions in June.

“We, respectfully, didn’t think the United States DOJ did an adequate review and we thought we needed to step into that breach,” Bonta said Thursday at The Atlantic Festival.

Paramount and state AGs will head to negotiating table in WBD merger fight

Bonta said he would insist on “structural remedies,” such as divestitures of cable channels, in any settlement negotiations.

News reports about the current talks led some merger opponents to accuse him of caving to Paramount.

The Block the Merger Coalition, an alliance of Hollywood unions and advocacy groups, announced protests Sunday in L.A. outside Bonta’s office; Monday in New York outside James’ office; and Tuesday in L.A. at the Writers Guild of America West’s headquarters.

Calling the rumored deal “an insult to everyone who has stood up against this harmful transaction,” the coalition urged the attorneys general to block the merger outright.

“An agreement based only on unenforceable concessions is a win only for David Ellison,” the coalition said. “It is an L for everyone else.”

贾斯汀·沙利文/盖蒂图片社

派拉蒙影业正与各州总检察长进行深入谈判，以解决阻止其收购华纳兄弟探索频道（CNN母公司）的反垄断诉讼。

但据 CNN 消息人士透露，这些谈判正在两个月前提起诉讼的一些民主党州之间造成分歧。

领导这12个州联盟的加州总检察长罗伯·邦塔近日一直在努力与派拉蒙影业达成和解协议。

然而，部分州尚未同意。据一位知情人士透露，纽约州总检察长莱蒂西亚·詹姆斯一直反对该协议条款，并寻求为工人提供更多保护。

康涅狄格州和至少另外两个州也对该和解协议持保留意见，目前尚未加入。这些反对者正在寻求派拉蒙公司提供额外的补救措施。

罗布·邦塔是谁？他是商界一些最重大法律诉讼的核心人物。

另一位熟悉谈判情况的人士表示，康涅狄格州总检察长威廉·唐正在“努力维护 CNN 和 CBS 新闻的独立性”。

由于谈判内容保密且可能发生变化，受访者均要求匿名。

如果未能达成和解协议，反垄断案将于明年三月在加利福尼亚州开庭审理——这一长时间的拖延可能会彻底危及和解协议的达成。

政治考量占据了重要地位：詹姆斯、邦塔、汤以及其他一些州检察长将在今年 11 月面临连任选举。

詹姆斯代表着数千名在派拉蒙和华纳工作的纽约人。

知情人士透露，在和解谈判期间，詹姆斯的办公室至少与六个受影响的工会进行了联系。

邦塔一直承受着巨大的压力，甚至来自一些惯常的盟友，因为有报道称派拉蒙威胁要离开加州。洛杉矶市长凯伦·巴斯——她正面临着一场艰难的连任竞选——上周公开表示，“我将拼尽全力”留住洛杉矶的电影和电视制作业务。

《华尔街日报》率先报道了和解谈判取得进展，《Status》杂志则率先报道了纽约州和康涅狄格州的保留意见。对此，邦塔的办公室表示，他们既不“证实也不否认和解谈判是否正在进行，也不对其内容进行任何评论”。

据路透社报道，派拉蒙可能做出的让步包括对 CNN 进行独立的内容监控，以及对院线发行做出承诺；据《华尔街日报》报道，派拉蒙还可能在一段时间内保持两家电影公司的运营独立。

有报道称双方即将达成和解，这引起了合并反对者的担忧。此次合并将打造好莱坞新巨头，将派拉蒙和华纳的电影制片厂、数十个电视频道以及哥伦比亚广播公司新闻部和美国有线电视新闻网的新闻业务合并在一起。

一些反对者质疑派拉蒙影业首席执行官大卫·埃里森及其亿万富翁父亲、甲骨文公司执行董事长拉里·埃里森的动机。拉里是特朗普总统的长期盟友，而大卫在试图将他相对较小的制片公司打造成全球媒体巨头的同时，也与特朗普白宫建立了密切联系。

特朗普的司法部在6月份审查了这起合并案，并允许其在没有任何让步的情况下进行。

邦塔周四在大西洋节上表示：“恕我们直言，我们认为美国司法部没有进行充分的审查，我们认为我们需要介入填补这一空白。”

派拉蒙影业和各州总检察长将就WBD合并案进行谈判

邦塔表示，在任何和解谈判中，他都会坚持采取“结构性补救措施”，例如剥离有线电视频道。

有关当前谈判的新闻报道导致一些合并反对者指责他向派拉蒙屈服。

由好莱坞工会和倡导团体组成的“阻止合并联盟”宣布，将于周日在洛杉矶邦塔的办公室外举行抗议活动；周一在纽约詹姆斯的办公室外举行抗议活动；周二在洛杉矶美国西部编剧工会总部举行抗议活动。

该联盟称传闻中的交易“是对所有反对这项有害交易的人的侮辱”，并敦促各州总检察长彻底阻止这项合并。

“这项仅基于无法执行的让步条款达成的协议，只有戴维·埃里森一人获胜，”该联盟表示，“对其他人来说都是失败。”