Paramount Skydance on Friday told a court that it will pause its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery to allow a potential trial to happen after 12 state attorneys general sued to prevent the deal. File Photo by Allison Dinner/EPA
July 24 (UPI) -- Paramount Skydance said that it has paused its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery amid an antitrust lawsuit filed by several states aimed at stopping it.
The attorneys general of 12 states earlier this month sued to block the proposed merger because it could undermine competition in the entertainment industry, with U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin pausing the merger on Monday for at least two weeks.
Paramount said in a court filing on Friday that it has reached an agreement with the state attorneys general to postpone the $111 billion merger until five days after a trial or until June 1, 2027, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter reported.
The company's hope, it said, is that pausing the merger could help to make it easier to eventually complete the deal, which Martinez-Olguin has prevented from closing until Aug. 18 at the earliest.
