Judge Says She’ll Rule By Next Week On Emergency Motion In State AGs’ Challenge To Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

The judge overseeing the state attorneys general challenge to the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger did not issue a ruling on an emergency motion to pause the transaction, but said that she would do so by July 22.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín heard arguments from both sides in an 80-minute hearing in Oakland on Friday. The states are seeking a temporary restraining order that would bar the companies from closing the deal for up to 28 days. That would be a prelude to a further ruling on a preliminary injunction, which would pause the transaction indefinitely, or until the legal process plays out.

Jeffrey Kessler, representing Paramount, told the judge that the transaction will not close by the 22nd, which is Wednesday. That is around the time that the European Union is expected to issue its decision on the $110 billion transaction.

Much of the hearing was devoted to argument on how narrowly the market for theatrical and cable distribution should be defined, as the state’s claimed that they had shows that the transaction on its face is illegal.

More to come.