A judge halts Paramount’s bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery

A judge partially granted a request from a dozen state attorneys general for a temporary stay The $110 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery wait, as he said Miscellaneous and Reuters. The judge of the US District, Araceli Martínez-Olguín, said that based on the market share of the new company, “The Court believes that it can conclude that the proposed merger violates the antitrust laws,” and that the countries have shown “irreparable harm” can be carried out without a temporary ban.

A week agoCalifornia, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington sued to block the agreement for 28 days, saying that the newly created “media behemoth” will harm competition, and that if the agreement is allowed to close, then the companies could cause changes such as layoffs and information sharing.

The judge imposed a 14-day restraining order and set a preliminary ruling for August 3rd. If the deal is not completed by September 30, Paramount will begin to owe Warner Bros. millions of dollars every day.