Exclusive: US states preparing a lawsuit to block Paramou…

A group of U.S. states is gearing up to file a lawsuit aimed at blocking Paramount Skydance's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. California Attorney General Rob Bonta indicated that a decision regarding legal action would be made soon. Following the news, Warner Bros shares dropped by 1.8%, while Paramount's shares fell by 4%. The acquisition has raised concerns in Hollywood about potential job losses among actors and writers, though Paramount contends it will need to increase content production to attract more streaming subscribers.

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June 5 (Reuters) - A group of U.S. states is preparing ‌a lawsuit to block Paramount Skydance's (PSKY.O), opens new tab $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros (WBD.O), opens new tab, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

While it was not immediately clear which states would sue, ⁠California Attorney General Rob Bonta had told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that his office would be making a decision on whether to take action soon.

A spokesperson for Bonta's office declined to comment on Friday.

Shares of Warner Bros fell after the news, and were down 1.8%. Paramount shares added ‌slightly ⁠to losses and were down 4%

Hollywood and Wall Street have been closely watching the high-stakes deal, which would bring together some of the entertainment industry's ⁠most enduring franchises.

The proposed transaction has faced pushback from actors, writers and others in Hollywood over its ⁠potential to eliminate jobs.

Paramount has denied the deal will decrease creative jobs, saying it will ⁠need to create more content after the transaction to attract streaming subscribers.

Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; editing by Chris Sanders

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Jody Godoy

Thomson Reuters

Jody Godoy reports on tech policy and antitrust enforcement, including how regulators are responding to the rise of AI. Reach her at jody.godoy@thomsonreuters.com

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