A group of US states could sue as soon as next week to block Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, opening a fresh front against a deal that federal regulators have already waved through.
The threat lands weeks after the Justice Department cleared the merger without conditions, and it could still delay Hollywood’s biggest consolidation in years.
The states are concerned the combination would harm competition, according to the Reuters report by Dawn Chmielewski and Jody Godoy, published on 8 July. The sources did not specify which type of competition worried officials.
Advocacy groups and some state regulators have warned that subscription prices for streaming services could rise, and that the merged company might cut jobs and offer a narrower range of films, news, and other content.
Those concerns echo objections raised by actors, writers, and cinema owners since the takeover was announced, with cinema operators in particular arguing that a combined studio could green-light fewer films.
