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(Bloomberg) -- Larry Ellison and his family would be on the hook for $9.8 billion if Paramount Skydance Corp.’s deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. falls apart.Most Read from BloombergChip Rout Deepens on Circular Funding, China Competition FearsNvidia’s $750 Billion in Deals Reignite Circular AI FearsCitadel Securities Sees Warsh Delivering Surprise Fed HikeApple Set to Make Big Smart Home Push With Siri AI at CenterASML Slides on Report of China Starting DUV Tool ProductionParamount, which

Paramount Skydance had been pushing to close its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by the end of September. It picked the wrong month to be optimistic. A coalition of 12 state attorneys general sued to block the deal on July 13, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order ...

Jul. 24—OLYMPIA — The Paramount Skydance planned merger with Warner Bros. has been halted as a federal judge considers whether the deal violates antitrust laws and unfairly reduces market competition. A lawyer representing the company wrote in a court filing Friday that the deal would not move forward until June 1, 2027 unless a federal judge rules on a case brought by Washington and 11 other ...

Paramount said Friday it will not move forward with its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery until legal challenges to the deal are resolved or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first. The concession is the latest blow to the $81 billion merger between entertainment giants Paramount and Warner, which is being challenged on antitrust grounds by 12 states and the Writers Guild of America, who argue the deal is anticompetitive. Paramount’s decision came after a California federal court had granted a temporary restraining order stopping the deal from closing in 28 days.

By Jody Godoy July 23 (Reuters) - Paramount Skydance must pause its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery through August 17, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.

WASHINGTON—Merging companies will get a shortcut to ending antitrust investigations under a Justice Department change meant to make the government review process less burdensome for businesses. The department’s antitrust division plans to announce on Thursday a new model for streamlining merger reviews that would quickly focus on the most apparent ways a deal might diminish competition, according to department officials. Antitrust enforcers won’t use the targeted approach in every case, but the process will allow some deals to clear federal scrutiny earlier, the officials said.

Federal judge pauses the merger as states seek an antitrust trial that could extend into next April.

Federal judge pauses merger pending antitrust reviewThe proposed merger between Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY) and Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) has encountered a significant legal hurdle after a US federal judge temporarily halted the transaction, casting uncertainty over a deal valued at approximately $100 billion.

A federal judge imposed a 14-day pause, with an Aug. 3 hearing set to review the merger challenge.

A federal judge has paused Paramount Skydance's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery in response to a lawsuit last week from a dozen state attorneys general looking to block the deal on antitrust grounds.

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked Paramount from completing its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

A federal judge on Monday ordered Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery to halt their $81 billion merger for at least two weeks, allowing states that are challenging the deal more time to see their case through in court. Twelve states, led by California, sued to block Paramount’s pending buyout of Warner last week— alleging that such a combination would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers, particularly moviegoers and cable customers across the U.S. The states’ top prosecutors called on Warner and Paramount to not close the transaction until after a court had time to “fully evaluate” their claims.

The states seek an injunction that could delay the acquisition for months as a federal court weighs their antitrust challenge.

The antitrust lawsuit could delay the merger after federal approval and before Europe's July 22 decision.

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(Bloomberg) -- Brian Roberts lost out on an opportunity last year to merge NBCUniversal with Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. But the process helped get the chairman and co-chief executive officer of Comcast Corp. thinking about what NBCUniversal would look like on its own. Most Read from BloombergTrump’s U-Turn on Iran Sanctions Would Unravel Decades of CurbsUS Stocks Get Tech Boost After AI-Fueled Selloff: Markets WrapCook Stays at Fed But Trump Wins Power Over Other AgenciesSupreme Court Leaves Tr

The unprecedented federal clearance of the massive media merger transforms the entertainment sector and creates lucrative opportunities for modern investors.

June S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESM26) are up +1.22%, and June Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQM26) are up +1.99% this morning, pointing to a sharply higher open on Wall Street as oil prices sank after the U.S. and Iran reached an interim peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

<body><p>STORY: The U.S. Justice Department's (DOJ) Antitrust Division said it has cleared Paramount Skydance Corp's planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.</p><p>It said the $110 billion transaction was unlikely to harm competition or consumers,</p><p>saying its impact "will be to increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem, with benefits for American consumers and workers."</p><p>Paramount thanked the DOJ for its review of the transaction.</p><p>It said the deal&nbsp;would allow the company to better compete in an industry defined by an intense scramble for audiences, talent, technology and investment.</p><p>Paramount CEO David Ellison's father, billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, has cultivated ties with President Donald Trump.</p><p>Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi had said that politics would "absolutely not" drive the DOJ's review of the transaction.</p><p>The Federal Communications Commission has yet to approve Paramount's petition for foreign investors to own up to 100% of the deal's debt.</p><p>Several in Hollywood have expressed concern that the merger would result in fewer jobs and less diversity of storytelling.</p><p>Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last week that California, New York and other U.S. states are preparing a lawsuit to block the deal.</p></body>

The unconditional clearance removes the primary federal regulatory hurdle standing between the two media giants and what would be one of the largest media combinations in history. Politico's report was corroborated by Newsmax and Quiver Quantitative, each also citing people familiar with the matter, though an official DOJ press release had not been published as of this writing.