Last Friday saw Paramount announce that it would not move forward with its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery until next June, due to an antitrust lawsuit filed to block the transaction. In an 11-page court filing, Paramount said that it would not continue with the merger before then unless a federal judge were to issue a ruling in the meantime.
The antitrust lawsuit was filed by a group of state attorneys, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The coalition argued in a complaint that such a merger would “extinguish competition” in the TV and film business.
The $110 billion merger was originally ordered to undergo a temporary pause ordered by Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the Northern District of California. Now, barring a federal judge ruling, it will be paused until June 1, 2027.
