Paramount Vows to Fight Warner Bros Merger Suit, Threatens Supreme Court Challenge
Lead trial counsel Jeffrey Kessler told CNBC the company is prepared to escalate as far as necessary after 12 state attorneys general filed an antitrust lawsuit blocking its $110 billion Warner Bros Discovery deal.
July 14, 2026 – 6:45 pm
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TL;DR:
Paramount vows to fight a 12-state antitrust lawsuit blocking its $110 billion Warner Bros Discovery deal, saying it will go to the Supreme Court.
Despite a lawsuit filed by 12 state attorneys general seeking to block the deal on antitrust grounds, Paramount Skydance aims to close its roughly $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery by the end of September.
Kessler, told CNBC that if there’s a prolonged blockade, Paramount is prepared to take the matter to the Supreme Court. The coalition, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, filed the suit in federal court on Monday and followed it with a motion for a temporary restraining order later that evening.
The lawsuit argues that combining two of Hollywood’s five major film distributors and two of its five major basic cable channel owners would substantially lessen competition across various sectors of the entertainment industry. Bonta stated that the merger would result in higher prices, lower quality, and less content for audiences.
Kessler noted that Paramount had offered the states two alternatives: an immediate close or an orderly judicial schedule to resolve the matter by early September, but both were rejected.
The financial pressure on Paramount is significant. The merger agreement stipulates a ticking fee worth roughly $650 million per quarter if the deal hasn’t closed by September 30. A temporary restraining order would pause the transaction for 14 days, with potential extensions until a preliminary injunction is sought.
Kessler argued that the merger is pro-competitive and beneficial to the industry as it faces challenges from streaming competition and changing consumer habits. He claimed the combined company would be able to compete directly with Netflix, Disney, and Amazon’s Prime Video. Paramount CEO David Ellison has promised a release of 30 films per year, which Kessler said Paramount is willing to put in writing.
The deal has already received clearance from the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, concluding that the transaction was unlikely to harm competition.