Settling the states' antitrust lawsuit over a proposed media deal would require the parties to make significant changes to the transaction itself, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in an interview with CNBC's David Faber. Antitrust law, stated plainly, is the body of rules that prevents companies from merging in ways that reduce competition for consumers. Bonta said any resolution short of a full court fight would require what he called "robust structural remedies."
The lawsuit targets the Paramount-Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Bonta's remarks place a public marker on what California, and the other states party to the case, are prepared to accept. Structural remedies, in merger law, mean requiring the parties to permanently alter the deal's shape. That typically involves selling off specific business units as a condition of any closing, rather than accepting behavioral limits imposed on the combined company after the fact. Those behavioral limits are called conduct remedies. Merging companies usually prefer them because such commitments can be revisited or eased over time. A forced divestiture cannot be undone. By invoking structural remedies explicitly, Bonta is signaling the states want the harder standard.
California is among multiple states bringing the case. Bonta, speaking with Faber, addressed whether a settlement was achievable, and his answer was that one would require significant concessions. He did not name which assets or business lines the states would require the parties to shed. Whether the companies respond with a revised offer or let the dispute proceed toward a court hearing was not resolved by his remarks to Faber.