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The 14-day restraining order prohibits the companies from closing the deal as a dozen states challenge it.

By Jody Godoy and Dawn Chmielewski July 20 (Reuters) - A coalition of states led by California won a pause of Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros.

A coalition of 12 U. S. states has launched an antitrust challenge against the proposed $110 billion merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros.

Analysts say Netflix is losing control of its own story, and a single line buried in Friday's earnings report about future disclosures is making Wall Street more nervous than the guidance miss itself.

(Bloomberg) -- Netflix Inc. forecast a second consecutive quarter of slowing sales growth, contributing to investor anxiety about the streaming giant’s future. The company projected revenue of $12.9 billion in the current quarter and earnings of 82 cents a share, both a little shy of analysts’ expectations. Most Read from BloombergThailand Scraps Plan to End Visa-Free Entry for Indian TouristsBeckham’s IM8 Gets $1 Billion From General Catalyst for GrowthGoogle Gemini Launch Delayed as Tech Falls

The company said it would begin to release its viewership report annually, rather than twice a year.

With the stock out of favor, investors are focused on slowing sales growth, but they may be missing the more powerful story of how efficiently Netflix is compounding profit per share.

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

New lawsuit joins states' challenge, raising uncertainty around the proposed media merger's closing timeline.

A 12-state antitrust lawsuit threatens to delay Paramount Skydance's $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, exposing both companies' weak balance sheets to costly penalty deadlines.

Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros. faces antitrust lawsuits, putting $30B in investment and 100M SF in limbo.

Move by Writers Guild of America comes a day after 12 Democratic-led states sued to stop the merger on antitrust grounds.

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

A consortium of 12 states led by California sued to block Paramount Skydance's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

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Led by California, the states argue the deal is anticompetitive, would harm theaters and lead to price increases for TV bundles.

Twelve US states have sued to block Paramount from acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery in a $110bn deal. The states argued cinemas and moviegoers could face higher prices if the merger goes ahead, as Paramount and Warner Bros. currently compete for the best release dates and screens at thousands of cinemas across the US. The lawsuit represents a significant obstacle for the deal, which is seen as one of the biggest media mergers in history.

The multi-state coalition described the merger as creating a 'media behemoth' and 'likely to substantially harm competition.'

The merger "would extinguish competition between Paramount and Warner Bros. and inflict substantial harm on movie theatres, basic cable distributors, and, ultimately, audiences nationwide," 12 state attorneys general allege in a complaint filed Monday.

(Updates with Paramount Skydance's statement in the fourth and fifth paragraphs.) Paramount Skyda

Investing.com -- California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday led a coalition of 12 state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to block Paramount Skydance's proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing the deal would unlawfully reduce competition across the U.S. film and television industry.

A coalition of a dozen states alleged the Hollywood merger would boost prices for consumers and lower quality for film and television.

There’s a golden opportunity to play mogul via shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, which agreed to be bought for $81 billion by smaller Paramount Skydance, given the more than 16% upside to the closing price and the companies’ intention to close this quarter.

​📈 Follow our live markets data and coverage. Only slightly less known is that you really shouldn’t invest alongside media deals. News organizations devote way less space to mergers, acquisitions or spinoffs involving toilet paper, paint or breakfast cereal.

Top Netflix executives who gathered for its annual business review this spring had a lot to be cheerful about. At the time, it was a small part of a conversation about the company’s goals, but it has since become a frequent topic of discussion at meetings, people familiar with the matter said. Engagement, which measures how long people spend watching content and how frequently they finish a movie or series, is the holy grail in modern Hollywood.

Closing Timeline Extended Pending Regulatory ReviewParamount (NASDAQ:PSKY) has confirmed that it will not complete its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros (NASDAQ:WBD) before 22 July, extending the expected closing timeline by at least another week as Oregon authorities continue reviewing the transaction. The announcement follows action by the Oregon Attorney General’s office, which disclosed the revised timetable on Wednesday.

When Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison unveiled his company’s $81 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery he touted a new golden era for Hollywood—one built on scale, technology and a promise to release at least 30 theatrical movies a year. The combined company is set to emerge with nearly $80 billion in debt—a burden that could weigh on decisions ranging from content spending and streaming investments to news operations and sports rights. Its net debt is projected to equal roughly 6.5 times annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization after the deal closes as soon as this month, a level that analysts consider high for a media company.

Paramount Skydance (PSKY) could be encountering a further hurdle in its $110 billion chase of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Britain does not necessarily want to block the accord. The greater danger may be that Britain recognizes the cost of delay. The U.K. government is reviewing whether it should ...

Paramount Skydance (PSKY) has reportedly offered concessions to address European Union competition c

The companies offered concessions to the commission to ease competition concerns about the planned $81 billion deal.