California Attorney General Rob Bonta accused Paramount Skydance of trying to “blackmail” his office on Tuesday by threatening to leave the state unless he agrees to hold settlement talks in the antitrust case against the company’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Paramount CEO David Ellison reportedly plans to take his business out of California as soon as Oct. 1 if Bonta refuses to engage in settlement talks to resolve the 12-state antitrust lawsuit.