Judge Pauses Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger
The states say the merger would give Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery about 27% of the domestic box office and more than 30% of wide-release films.
- On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin extended a temporary restraining order blocking Paramount Global's roughly $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery until August 18.
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 other states filed a lawsuit to block the deal, alleging it violates the Clayton Act by reducing competition and causing "higher prices and degraded quality."
- Representing Paramount, attorney Jeffrey Kessler disputed the antitrust claims, warning that a preliminary injunction creates "commercial uncertainty" and could cost the company well over $1 billion in additional fees.
- Hanging over the legal fight is a September 30 deadline, after which Paramount faces a $7 million per day "ticking fee" if the deal remains incomplete.
- The Writers Guild of America also challenged the merger, with Judge Martinez-Olguin set to hear arguments on August 3 as the injunction itself is often the "whole ballgame.
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The operation, valued at $111 billion, cannot be closed while the judicial battle continues
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