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For months, Paramount has barreled toward closing its $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery by July. It filed the paperwork for the Justice Department to bless the deal in December, even as Netflix appeared to come out on top of the bidding war. So far, it’s secured greenlights from over a dozen countries.
Those designs were stymied when a coalition of 12 states led by California sued to block the deal, likely putting an end to its planned closing date. The lawsuit pushes to the forefront the risk of Paramount being forced to pay a hefty fee to Warners shareholders for the delay.
Paramount’s frustrations with the timing of the lawsuit were on display during a hearing on Friday over whether the court should issue a temporary restraining order preventing the studio from consummating the transaction. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín said she’d issue a decision by next Wednesday.
In what could be a signal that she’s inclined to grant the states’ emergency motion, the judge stressed at one point that Paramount conceded that it wouldn’t suffer any harm if the deal was frozen for a short period.
