States sue to block Paramount/WBD merger that was approved by Trump admin

AG: Deal will bring "higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and TV."

A group of 12 states led by California sued Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery today in an attempt to block a $111 billion merger that was greenlit by the Trump administration last month. “The unlawful merger of these two entertainment behemoths would lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the US,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said. The merger would combine two of the largest movie studios and merge streaming service Paramount+ with HBO Max.

Netflix previously had a deal to buy WBD’s streaming and movie studios businesses, but Paramount succeeded in a hostile takeover bid helped along by support from the Trump administration. The states trying to block the deal “asked Warner Bros. and Paramount not to close the merger until after the judicial process concludes, and if they do not agree, the coalition will be filing [a motion for] a temporary restraining order,” Bonta’s announcement of the lawsuit said. Paramount gets help from Trump admin A Semafor report yesterday said that Paramount is considering moving its corporate headquarters out of California in response to the state’s efforts to block the merger.

Today’s lawsuit was filed by Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington. The case is in US District Court for the Northern District of California. The US Justice Department approved the merger on June 12, saying it determined it will not harm competition or American consumers.

The approval reportedly surprised DOJ staff lawyers who led the agency’s investigation into the deal and were leaning toward recommending a lawsuit to block it.