Hours after filing a lawsuit challenging the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), a coalition of 12 US states has filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block the deal.
In a statement announcing its original legal challenge on Monday (July 13), the coalition of state attorneys general said it had asked Paramount and WBD not to close the merger until the judicial process around the suit could conclude. A later statement from California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the consortium, said the companies had not agreed to that request.
Bonta commented: “The unlawful merger of Warner Bros and Paramount would harm movie theatres, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences on every sofa and movie theatre seat in the US. These titans of industry must not move to merge until a court properly evaluates our claims. Today, alongside a coalition of attorneys general, I’ve filed an emergency motion asking the court to immediately stop this merger. I will not let Warner Bros and Paramount merge without a fight.”
In addition to California, the coalition includes the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington.
Responding to the original lawsuit challenging the deal, Paramount had said the action “reflects a fundamentally flawed application of the antitrust laws and is wrong on both the facts and the law. We will vigorously defend the transaction and demonstrate that this challenge is inconsistent with sound competition policy and the competitive realities of the media marketplace.”
In other reactions to the states’ original legal challenge, meanwhile, exhibitors group Cinema United has expressed its support for the move. “We welcome the decision of the Attorneys General of multiple states to challenge the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros Studios,” said Cinema United president and CEO Michael O’Leary in a statement. “The ramifications of further movie studio consolidation will be significant and lasting, not just in Hollywood, but on Main Streets across this nation where local movie theaters serve as cultural and financial cornerstones for communities of all sizes.”
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