Judge orders Paramount to temporarily pause Warner Bros acquisition

Written by: Jody Godoy and Dawn Chmielewski

July 20 (Reuters) – A coalition of states led by California rejected Paramount’s $110 billion deal with Warner Bros. on Monday after arguing that ending the merger would cause irreparable harm to competition. Discovery won a stay on its acquisition.

California and 11 states filed the lawsuit on July 13, arguing that the deal would create a media giant with the power to raise prices on movies and television.

If the deal is allowed to close, Paramount will soon start cutting corners and handing over sensitive information to Warner Bros. will start sharing with; the states argued that if the merger was ultimately found to be illegal, actions would be difficult to reverse.

The lawsuit, filed in Oakland federal court, threatens to derail Paramount CEO David ‌Ellison’s attempt to turn his company into a major rival to Netflix and Disney.

Paramount said that “the case overturns established antitrust law, and delaying the transaction will only harm entertainment workers who have suffered from industry disruption for years.”

(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York and Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles)