Rift Appears Between States Opposing PSKY-WBD Merger Deal

Iowa and Montana asked the U.S. Supreme Court this week to halt a 12-state antitrust lawsuit that has frozen Paramount Skydance’s roughly $110–$111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing that a handful of Democratic attorneys general have “effectively vetoed” a deal the Justice Department and most other states declined to block. 

Republican AGs Brenna Bird of Iowa and Austin Knudsen of Montana filed a motion Tuesday seeking leave to sue California and 11 partner states — Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington — in the high court. 

They want the justices to declare that the merger does not violate the Clayton Act, stop the California-led case in the Northern District of California, and speed briefing so the court could consider the dispute at its Oct. 9 conference, with a response due Sept. 15. They say only the Supreme Court can hear a “controversy between sovereigns.” 

The 12 states sued in July and won an order delaying closing until a trial set for March 2027. They contend the David Ellison-led combination would weaken competition in theatrical film and key cable networks. Paramount has called that case flawed. Iowa and Montana say the delay itself threatens the deal, harms employees and viewers in their states, and conflicts with clearances from the DOJ, the European Union, Canada and more than 60 other jurisdictions. 

California AG Rob Bonta, who leads the opposition, labeled the Supreme Court filing “political grandstanding.” A Bonta spokesperson said the office is reviewing it. Settlement talks are stalled. Bonta canceled a Monday meeting after accusing Paramount of leaking and misrepresenting a Friday prep session. He said his office will meet again only if Paramount “stops playing games.” 

Paramount denied being the source of leaks. Reports have said the states want cable-channel divestitures and a firewall keeping Paramount and Warner Bros. studios separate. The company faces rising delay costs if the case runs to trial; a Writers Guild suit is a parallel obstacle. The Supreme Court takes few original-jurisdiction cases between states, so the Iowa-Montana bid is widely viewed as a long shot.