California and 11 Other States Sue to Block Paramount Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a federal antitrust lawsuit Monday in the Northern District of California on behalf of a 12-state coalition to block Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The suit claims the transaction would combine two of the industry’s five major film distributors and two of its five major basic-cable channel owners, violating the Clayton Act.

Bonta stated the merger would lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television. The coalition includes attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington.

The same evening the complaint was filed, the states submitted an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.

The U.S. Justice Department approved the merger in June without requiring divestitures. The transaction still requires approvals from the Federal Communications Commission, U.K. antitrust regulators and the European Commission, though regulators in more than a dozen other countries have cleared it.

Bonta’s office had offered a consent decree under which the combined company would produce 30 films annually with a 45-day theatrical window and a 90-day streaming window while keeping both studios’ California lots open. The coalition said the offer was declined.

com reported.

One adviser described the regulatory climate as inhospitable. Bonta called the suggestion a threat and a last-ditch effort to blackmail regulators. Paramount stated it is confident the transaction raises no antitrust concerns and pointed to clearances already granted by dozens of authorities worldwide.