Paramount doesn't just want to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery—it wants its legal opponents to pay for slowing it down. The studio has asked a federal judge to require 12 states and the Writers Guild of America, which are suing to block the merger on antitrust grounds, to post a $1.88 billion bond, reports the New York Times. If they lose at trial next March, Paramount wants to collect that money to offset what it says are mounting costs from the now months-long delay. "Here, every month of delay carries substantial and quantifiable financial consequences," Paramount said in a statement, per CNBC.
Those costs include a steep breakup-style fee: under its deal terms, Paramount must pay $650 million every quarter if the transaction isn't completed by Oct. 1, a concession made to win over Warner Bros. shareholders who were also weighing a Netflix offer. Legal experts say judges rarely force government plaintiffs to post bonds in antitrust cases, and one former FTC chair predicts the request is unlikely to succeed—especially since Paramount chose those financial terms.
California AG Rob Bonta's office accused the company of trying to escape a deal it "went into … with eyes wide open." "They are lying in a bed of their own making, and once again, trying to blackmail us to get us to back down," read a statement. CEO David Ellison has told executives he'll start moving the company out of California on Oct. 1 if the lawsuit remains stuck.
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