Judge pauses Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger for 14 days
A federal judge temporarily halted the proposed merger after state attorneys general raised antitrust concerns over theatrical distribution.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
2 min read
A federal judge has put Paramount’s proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery on hold for 14 days, granting a temporary restraining order tied to antitrust concerns, Deadline reported.
The order came from U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin, who said state attorneys general had shown strong evidence about the scale of the combined company in one key part of the movie business.
According to Deadline, Martinez-Olguin wrote that the attorneys general “present compelling evidence” that the merged company would hold a substantial share of the market for wide-release theatrical distribution.
The judge also wrote that the market-share issue was enough, on its own, to support a legal presumption that the proposed transaction may run afoul of antitrust law.
What the judge focused on
The ruling centers on competition in wide-release theatrical distribution, the part of the industry that gets films into broad cinema release. The judge’s order did not, as reported by Deadline, turn on streaming, cable networks or studio libraries.
Martinez-Olguin’s reasoning, as quoted by Deadline, pointed directly to the size of the combined firm that would result from the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery deal.
“On this combined firm market share alone, the Court is persuaded that it can presume the proposed merger is likely to violate antitrust laws,” the judge wrote, according to the report.
A short pause, but a real one
The temporary restraining order blocks the merger for 14 days. Deadline reported the order as a pause, rather than a final decision on whether the companies can complete the transaction.
The ruling gives the state attorneys general a temporary win at an early stage of the antitrust fight. The judge’s language, as reported, shows that the court found their market-share argument serious enough to stop the deal from moving ahead for now.
The report did not identify the state attorneys general by name or state. It also did not include responses from Paramount or Warner Bros. Discovery to the judge’s order.
Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are two of Hollywood’s best-known entertainment companies. For now, their proposed combination is stuck at the courthouse door while the temporary order runs its 14-day course.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.