12 states sue to block the $110bn Paramount-Warner deal

This article was published on July 13, 2026 The DOJ cleared the $110bn merger without conditions. California and eleven others say it breaks the Clayton Act, and they may be the last check left. A dozen states have sued to block Paramount Skydance’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. The suit, led by California attorney general Rob Bonta, was filed in federal court in California’s Northern District, CNBC reports. The timing is pointed. The Justice Department approved the roughly $110bn deal last month without conditions or divestitures, after an eight-month review. The states are, in effect, doing what the federal government declined to do. It was flagged as a possibility last week, and now it has happened. The complaint alleges a violation of the Clayton Act, which bars mergers likely to substantially lessen competition. It identifies three markets. Those are wide-release theatrical distribution, top-grossing or blockbuster theatrical distribution, and basic cable licensing. The states put the combined company at 27% of wide-release distribution, 30% of anticipated blockbusters, and 27% of the basic cable bundle. Bonta framed the harm in consumer terms. The merger would mean high