Judge orders Paramount to temporarily pause Warner Bros acquisition

A coalition ​of states led by California ​won a pause of Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday, after they ‌argued letting ⁠the ⁠merger close would irreparably harm competition.

California and ​11 states sued on July 13, arguing the ​deal would create a media behemoth with the power to raise prices ​in film and television.

If ⁠the deal ‌is allowed to close, ​Paramount ​would soon begin cutting jobs ⁠and sharing sensitive information with Warner ​Bros., actions that are hard ​to undo if the merger is ultimately found to be illegal, the states argued.


Also read: California, 11 states suing to block Paramount's $110 billion Warner Bros deal

The lawsuit, filed in Oakland federal court, threatens to derail ‌Paramount CEO David Ellison's bid to transform his company into a major rival of ⁠Netflix and Disney.

Paramount has said the lawsuit distorts settled antitrust law, and that delaying ​the transaction would only harm entertainment workers who have already suffered through years of industry disruption.