US District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín issued the extension Thursday. She’s still scheduled to hold a hearing Aug. 3 on whether to delay the deal further pending a trial next year to block the deal permanently. On that date, the judge will hear a pair of challenges, from a group of state attorneys general led by California and from the Writers Guild of America.
On Monday, Martínez-Olguín initially paused the deal for two weeks and set the Aug. 3 hearing. That is currently planned to be a brief, late-afternoon event in Oakland, California, federal court. However, Paramount is pushing for a three-day evidentiary hearing with testimony from multiple witnesses to be held later in August.
The company has said repeatedly the deal will survive a legal challenge if the company is allowed to present evidence showing the merger will give Hollywood much-needed competition and allow it to better compete against tech giants like Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
The states told the judge in a late Thursday filing that they were having “productive discussions” with Paramount and Warner. A letter by attorneys for California submitted on behalf of all the states suing said the coalition will not file a motion for a preliminary injunction overnight and will provide a “joint update” to the court by mid-day Friday.
Paramount is in a race against time and pushing to move things along as quickly as possible.
The company promised to pay Warner Bros. shareholders about $7 million each day starting Oct. 1 until the deal closes. That allowed it to beat Netflix Inc. in a heated bidding war for the owner of the storied studio. But waiting for an April trial and subsequent ruling could cost the company more than $1.5 billion. If the deal fails because of antitrust concerns, either side can walk away starting in June 2027 and Paramount will owe Warner Bros. an additional $7 billion.
The states argue that the deal would harm competition in theatrical distribution and basic cable markets, while the Writers Guild argues it will diminish competition for their services.
