‘Laws were broken’: multistate effort to stop Paramount’s $111bn merger heads to court

Attorneys general from 12 states are suing to block the Paramount-Warner Bros deal they say violates antitrust law A last-ditch effort to block the merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) is heading to court as 12 Democratic state attorneys general attempt to stop the $111bn deal they say violates antitrust law and reduces competition in both the film and cable television industries. The lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, faces a crucial hearing on Friday to determine if a judge will temporarily pause the deal or allow it to continue toward approval. The merger was already approved by the Department of Justice in June. California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, who is leading the suit, told the Guardian on Thursday he was optimistic about their chances in court. The lawsuit argues that the merger violates the Clayton Act, a federal antitrust law that prohibits illegal market concentration. “In our complaint, it’s really clean, clear, concise,” he said. “It’s precise with the data points that we’ve shared and courts have traditionally accepted exactly those types of arguments and that kind of data as a basis for finding a merger to be presumpt