A US federal judge has granted the temporary restraining order requested by 12 US states to delay the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).
The ruling pauses closure of the deal for 14 days, setting an August 3 date for a hearing on the states’ preliminary injunction to block the merger.
The coalition of states – comprising California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington – filed for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction a week ago, hours after filing a suit that challenges the merger on antitrust grounds. The preliminary injunction would block the merger until litigation has run its course.
In her ruling on the temporary restraining order (TRO), US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin wrote: ”Plaintiff States’ showing at least demonstrates that serious questions going to the merits remain, weighing in favor of preliminary injunctive relief.”
The ruling said that even if defendants Paramount and Warner ”argued that they would suffer economic harm as a result of delaying the merger, the equities do not weigh in their favor when contrasted with the potential public harms that would result from consummation of the Transaction, including the loss of competition.
”Paramount and Warner Bros will continue to operate as separate, viable companies competing in the marketplace while they wait for the Court to adjudicate this case. The balance of equities, combined with the public’s vital interest in antitrust enforcement, therefore tips sharply in favor of the requested injunctive relief.”
Paramount and Warner, the ruling added, ”are temporarily enjoined and restrained from closing or consummating the Transaction or taking any steps, directly or indirectly, to integrate or consolidate their operations pursuant to the Transaction.”
In a statement, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the coalition of states, called the ruling ”a critical first win in our case to ensure this megamerger never sees the light of day.”
A Paramount spokeperson responded to the ruling in a statement saying, “We are grateful for the Court’s swift order on the motion for a TRO. Like the timing agreement to which we were willing to stipulate, this TRO preserves the status quo while the Court considers the antitrust issues presented.
”We are confident the evidence will demonstrate that the State AGs’ antitrust arguments are without merit as their alleged markets and claims of anticompetitive effects are without any basis in modern market realities. This merger is lawful, pro-competitive, and will benefit consumers, creators, workers, and the entertainment industry. We will continue to vigorously defend the transaction and will look forward to the hearings on the substance of the State AGs’ action.”
No comments yet