Paramount delays Warner Bros. merger
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This pause in the merger is not the beginning of the end, but more likely the end of the beginning of the process.
After Friday’s delay in the Paramount-WBD antitrust lawsuit, shares of both media companies slid in after-hours trading, foes of the merger exulted and observers tried to process the latest twist in the merger saga.
The concessions come as Paramount Skydance was already facing the prospect of a lengthy moratorium. The latest delay could extend to next summer.
A new study warns that a successful Paramount merger with Warner Bros. Discovery would lead to an increase of productions outside Hollywood.
UPDATED, with state AG and WGA response: Paramount is proposing that a federal judge hold a three-day evidentiary hearing later in August as she weighs whether to issue a preliminary injunction that would halt its acquisition of Warner Bros.
The International Union of Cinemas has criticized the European Commission's approval of the Paramount-Warner Bros merger, saying the decision was based on "too narrow a scope." The union, known as UNIC,