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Paramount asked a federal court to order the 12 states suing to block its $111 billion proposed acquisition of Warner Brothers to cover the expense of the delayed merger, citing mounting “substantial costs” as the studio readies to face Attorney General Rob Bonta in court next March.
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On Monday, attorneys for Paramount asked U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín to order California and its multistate coalition to post a $1.88 billion bond in case the states lose, after Bonta filed last month to block its merger with Warner Brothers on antitrust grounds.
The trial is expected to start March 2, 2027, and last for 12 days. But Paramount is on the hook to start paying Warner Brothers shareholders $7 million in “ticking fees” for each day the deal does not close after Sept. 30, which the company’s attorneys cited in their bond request.
“By the time trial concludes and the parties submit their final briefs, Paramount will have paid Warner Bros. shareholders an unrecoverable $1.3 billion in ticking fees alone,” the attorney’s request said. “Absent security, even a complete victory on the merits would not restore a dollar of those extraordinary losses.”
Bonta’s office said in response that Paramount and Warner Brothers knew the agreement included a “costly ticking fee” provision and would undergo a lengthy regulatory review process and “chose to include it anyway.”
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“What’s more, Paramount itself stipulated to the timing it is now protesting — they agreed to the dates and did not request a bond as a condition of agreeing not to close until after the trial, and potentially as late as June 2027. Now, they’re trying to get a do-over,” the unsigned statement read. “Bottom line: Paramount went into this process 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.”
The states, along with the Writers Guild of America, have argued that allowing Paramount and Warner Brothers to merge would consolidate most streaming platforms, studios and broadcast news outlets like CNN and CBS under one entity, leading to fewer job opportunities for creatives and reduced film and TV output.
Last week, Bonta and Paramount Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim spoke about their respective legal strategies in separate appearances at a political conference in Sacramento.
Bonta said he was confident that the states would triumph, and that Paramount was “eager” to settle the suit. Gov. Gavin Newsom has reportedly urged the sides to reach an agreement out of court.
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This story was originally published August 17, 2026 at 1:42 PM.