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.
What the states are actually claiming
The complaint alleges a violation of the Clayton Act, which bars mergers likely to substantially lessen competition. It identifies three markets.
