Paramount agrees to months-long delay of Warner Bros. merger

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Set us as preferred Paramount Skydance has agreed to delay its purchase of Warner Bros.Discovery to as late as next June as David Ellison’s media company mounts its defense to the antitrust challenge brought by California Atty.

Gen.Rob Bonta and his coalition of 11 other state attorneys general.The major concession comes as Paramount was facing an Aug.

3 hearing to try to convince U.S.District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín that its proposed $111-billion deal — which would reshape Hollywood with the combination of two historic studios — did not violate U.S.

antitrust laws.In a stipulation filed Friday, Paramount agreed to hold off on closing its blockbuster purchase until after the states’ antitrust case can be decided by the judge in a trial — or by June 1, 2027.Hollywood Inc.

District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín granted a temporary restraining order request by a coalition of 12 state attorneys general, led by California Atty.Gen.

Rob Bonta, to freeze the dealThe move comes after Martínez-Olguín issued a temporary restraining order earlier in the week — requested by Bonta and the others — which paused the deal until the judge could hold a preliminary injunction hearing to decide whether to impose a lengthy moratorium.Privately, Paramount officials were worried they might lose that round before Martínez-Olguín so, during negotiations with the states, Paramount stipulated that it would not close the deal on its preferred timetable.“Today’s agreement is a significant win because the result is exactly what we have sought from the outset: a direct path to a trial based on the evidence,” a Paramount spokesperson said.

“This is the fastest and clearest way to prove that this transaction is good for competition, good for consumers, and good for creators, a conclusion dozens of competition authoriti...