Judge halts Paramount's $111B purchase of Warner Bros. in win for US states

A federal judge today ordered Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery to halt their $111 billion merger, handing an early win to states that sued to block the deal. The ruling granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting the firms from completing the merger and from consolidating their operations.

The temporary order is only in effect for 14 days, but it can be converted into a preliminary injunction that would prevent the merger from being completed until the case is resolved. The temporary restraining order can be extended past the 14-day period if more time is needed to rule on a preliminary injunction. A group of 12 states led by California sued the companies last week in an attempt to block the deal, which had been approved by the Trump administration .

The states say the merger will eliminate competition by combining two of the five major Hollywood movie studios, and two of the five major owners of basic cable TV channels.