WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A coalition of 12 attorneys general, led by California AG Rob Bonta, has filed a lawsuit against the proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) by Paramount Skydance Corp. (PSKY), asking the court to block the deal.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District for the Northern District of California, alleges that the deal would extinguish competition between both companies and inflict substantial harm on movie theaters, basic cable distributors and, ultimately, audiences across the United States.
In the proposed merger, deemed to be the largest in Hollywood history, two of Hollywood's five major film distributors and two of the five major basic cable channel owners will be combined. In the U.S. alone, the combined company would control nearly one-third of theatrical motion pictures, and nearly one-third of basic cable programming.
As per the filing, the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act, which holds that mergers that may substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly are illegal.
The attorneys general allege that, if Warner Bros. and Paramount are allowed to merge, it would lessen competition mainly in the areas of wide release theatrical film distribution, anticipated top-grossing theatrical film distribution, and licensing basic cable television channels.
In a statement, Office Of The Attorney General of California stated that the coalition has asked Warner Bros. and Paramount not to close the merger until after the judicial process concludes. If they do not agree, the coalition has warned that it will be filing a temporary restraining order.
Attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington also participated in filing the lawsuit.
In mid-June, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it closed its investigation into the proposed acquisition, determining that the transaction is not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers.
In February 2026, Paramount Skydance announced it had entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. The all-cash transaction is valued at $81 billion in equity and $110 billion in enterprise value, positioning Paramount as a premier global media and entertainment powerhouse.
In the overnight trading, Warner Bros. shares were losing around 0.04 percent, at $27.08, after closing Monday's regular trading 2% higher.
Paramount Skydance shares were down 0.5% in the overnight, at $9.50, after closing the regular trading 1.5% higher.
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