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Judge orders Paramount to temporarily pause Warner Bros acquisition
The order gives 12 states more time to press claims the merger would reduce competition and raise prices for consumers, the attorneys general said.
- On Monday, California District Judge Araceli Mart issued a 14-day temporary restraining order halting Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery following a lawsuit from 12 states challenging the merger.
- Rob Bonta, California's lead attorney, filed the lawsuit last week, alleging the merger would "lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences."
- In court papers filed Thursday, Paramount called the challenge "one of the weakest merger challenges in modern antitrust history" and agreed to a $7 billion breakup fee if the deal fails due to regulatory concerns.
- Paramount intended to close the deal as early as July 22, but the 14-day pause disrupts this timeline; delays beyond Sept. 30 trigger a quarterly "ticking fee" of about $650 million payable to WBD shareholders.
- The court will next consider a preliminary injunction to prevent closing until the case concludes, mirroring a prior $6.2 billion deal between Nexstar Media Group and Tegna that faced a similar court-ordered pause.
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A US court has stopped the billion-dollar takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount for two weeks at first. Twelve states see the merger as a threat to competition.
·Hamburg, Germany
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A court in the United States temporarily blocked the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery for $110 billionA federal court has suspended the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance until August 3. The lawsuit was filed by 11 states in led by California due to the threat of competition in the media market.
·Kyiv, Ukraine
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Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. is a mega deal that could not only turn Hollywood upside down. U.S. states that want to overturn it will achieve their first success in court.
·Frankfurt, Germany
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Total News Sources388
Leaning Left75Leaning Right49Center147Last UpdatedBias Distribution54% Center
Bias Distribution
- 54% of the sources are Center
54% Center
L 28%
C 54%
R 18%
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