Federal Judge Temporarily Pauses Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger

A federal judge has temporarily paused the controversial merger between Paramount and Warner Bros., according to a report by The New York Times. This restraining order lasts for 14 days, though could stretch out even longer if both parties agree.

The order is to give Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín and the court time to consider a lawsuit brought forth by 12 states. This coalition maintains that the $111 billion merger would violate federal antitrust law and could lead to less competition and higher prices for consumers. The deal could've closed as early as July 22, but will now be held up for at least two more weeks.

"This is a critical first win in our case to ensure this megamerger never sees the light of day," California's attorney general, Rob Bonta, said in a statement. Paramount has yet to comment on today's news, though it did argue in front of the court that the restraining order was unnecessary.

Martinez-Olguin has also scheduled a hearing regarding the preliminary injunction for August 3. If an injunction is granted, it could permanently block the merger. If the court rules against such an injunction, the deal will likely be fast-tracked. If a deal isn't reached by September 30, Paramount will start to owe millions of dollars a day to Warner Bros. investors, according to Variety.

Paramount gobbling up Warner Bros. means that one company would control a whole lot of media properties. This could place HBO Max, CBS, CNN, Showtime, TNT, TBS, Paramount+, DC Studios, Comedy Central, Discovery New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures under a single umbrella.