A federal judge held a hearing Thursday on a proposed settlement that would allow Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros. to proceed, but she has not yet approved the deal and could still demand changes or send the parties back to the negotiating table.
Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin scheduled the session after the states and Paramount announced last Monday they had resolved the states’ antitrust lawsuit. She said the hearing would “address certain outstanding questions regarding the factual and legal underpinnings of” the agreement “as well as [its] implementation.”
The settlement does not require Paramount to sell any assets or give up control over parts of the media industry. Instead, it would require the combined company to meet film-production quotas, create an “independent editorial board” overseeing CNN and CBS News, and accept other limited restrictions for five years. Opponents of the merger have broadly criticized those terms as inadequate.
Outside film groups and the League of United Latin American Citizens are expected to file opposing briefs by midnight. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., separately asked the judge Thursday to subject the settlement to an independent review before she decides whether to approve it. He urged her to require both sides to explain how the agreement addresses the concerns in the original lawsuit and to consider appointing an “independent economic expert” to assess whether it would “restore competition.”
The judge directed the parties to respond to Booker’s letter and any outside briefs by noon PDT today.
Any decision would come after that deadline. She said only that she would rule in “due course.”
Paramount has a strong incentive for a fast ruling: it will owe Warner Bros. shareholders a combined $7 million per day if the deal does not close by Oct. 1. Additional review of the kind Booker requested could push the merger well past that date.