Paramount-Warner 'Mega-Merger' Halted; Court Issues 2-Week Suspension

The massive merger and acquisition between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, which has drawn global attention from the film and media industries, has been halted.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has ordered Paramount to suspend all merger and acquisition activities for two weeks until August 3, Reuters reported on July 20 (local time).

This decision comes after 12 states, including California and Arizona, filed a lawsuit alleging that the merger violates antitrust laws, with the court siding with the state governments for now.

The court pointed out that if the entity created by the merger were to control 27% of the theatrical distribution market, as argued by the state governments, the likelihood of an antitrust violation appears high.

Furthermore, the court explained that Paramount's argument regarding the entry of companies like Amazon and Apple into the film market does not justify the legality of the merger.

The court plans to hold a hearing on August 3 to determine whether to continue the suspension of the merger while the lawsuit proceeds.

Earlier this year, Paramount signed a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for 110 billion dollars (approximately 163 trillion won), surpassing Netflix.

Paramount, a major media group, owns the CBS television network, while Warner Bros. Discovery holds a major film production company that created series such as "Harry Potter" and "The Matrix," as well as the CNN news network.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.