The lawsuit is a serious threat to Paramount CEO David Ellison's bid to transform his company into a major competitor to Netflix and Disney.

California is among the states suing to block Paramount from buying Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood mega-merger that would unite some of the nation's largest movie studios…

The deal already cleared federal regulators, but now faces a challenge from a coalition of 12 states.

California and eleven states are suing to block Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. They allege the deal would lessen competition in film distribution and cable…