California Cancels Talks With Paramount Over Warner Bros. Merger

California’s attorney general has canceled a meeting with representatives of Paramount that was scheduled for Monday to begin discussing a settlement of the state’s lawsuit seeking to block Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Rob Bonta, the attorney general, called off the meeting late Sunday, accusing Paramount of acting in bad faith. In a statement to The Times, Mr. Bonta accused Paramount of leaking details of a meeting the parties held on Friday.

“Not only did Paramount leak the alleged substance of settlement discussions, but they misrepresented these discussions, demonstrating a lack of good faith,” Mr. Bonta said in the statement. “As soon as Paramount stops playing games and engages sincerely, my office is happy to meet again.”

A spokeswoman for Paramount did not have immediate comment on Monday morning.

The Monday meeting was supposed to be preliminary, and there was never any blockurance that it would lead to meaningful negotiations toward a settlement. But the possibility that the two sides could begin moving toward an agreement was seen as something of a breakthrough after Paramount threatened to leave California and Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed a preference for settling the case.

Paramount’s proposed $111 billion purchase of Warner Bros. would create a media giant, combining two major movie studios, multiple streaming services and the news outlets CNN and CBS News. The company, headquartered in Hollywood, would also be a major employer in Los Angeles.

Last month, California led a group of 12 state attorneys general in suing to block the deal, arguing it would create a company with outsize market power in cable television and movie studios.

Mr. Bonta had previously said he would be willing to accept only structural remedies to resolve the lawsuit, which would typically mean requiring the companies to sell off parts of the combined business. Executives are often reluctant to hive off parts of a newly merged company because they have already made financial blockumptions about the combined operations.

With a trial scheduled for March, delays could cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars in fees that it must start paying to Warner Bros. shareholders if the deal is not closed by October.

Political pressure has been building for the two sides to reach a resolution. Mayor Karen Bblock of Los Angeles last week said disputes over the merger had stalled productions and led to job losses in Hollywood. She called for a “swift and urgent resolution” to the lawsuit.

Xavier Becerra, the Democratic candidate for governor of California, also said this month that he would like to see the lawsuit settled.

Mr. Newsom, who is in his final months as governor of California and considering a run for president in 2028, said on Friday that he took Paramount’s threat to leave the state seriously.

“I’m concerned about the state, our reputation,” he said. “I want to see Hollywood thrive.”

Benjamin Mullin, Lauren Hirsch and Francesca Regalado contributed reporting.