Supreme Court Declines to Block Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

Justice Elena Kagan entered a denial of a petition aimed at halting the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, leaving the transaction on track to close on Tuesday. The petition, filed by a group of plaintiffs including Pamela Faust and others, argued that the merger would still be anticompetitive despite conditions imposed by a recent settlement with state attorneys general.

"The States’ settlement itself requires that the combined company not sell or close the Paramount or Warner Bros. lots during the commitment period, provides reapplication rights to employees displaced by the transaction, and creates an editorial-independence board. Those safeguards show the magnitude of the integration that closing will unleash, but they do not preserve competition between Paramount and Warner Bros.," the petitioners wrote.

The plaintiffs had previously sought a temporary restraining order, which was rejected by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin, who noted their repeated failures to present evidence and questioned their standing. A federal appellate court also denied their request earlier in the week.

In their Supreme Court filing, the group sought a narrow order to keep the companies separate pending further legal review, emphasizing that the request did not address final antitrust liability but aimed to preserve the Court’s ability to consider the issues before the October 6 closing.

The lawsuit, originally filed last spring, describes the plaintiffs as Paramount subscribers, viewers, and cable customers. The settlement with state attorneys general includes a consent decree outlining a schedule for theatrical releases and separate negotiations for the companies' cable channels.