Overview
- Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield presented a court motion Wednesday in Multnomah County asking a judge to compel Paramount to produce documents about its lobbying, including a project called 'Project Warrior,' and to impose a 60‑day delay on closing.
- Paramount has told the court it will not close the deal before July 22 to align with the European Commission’s extended review deadline while it objects to state subpoenas as irrelevant to Oregon’s antitrust law.
- A coalition of state attorneys general led by California and New York is finalizing a multistate antitrust lawsuit that sources say could be filed as soon as next week, creating a parallel legal path that could block or pause the transaction.
- The U.S. Department of Justice cleared the merger after an eight‑month review, but state investigators have focused on an unusual DOJ statement and are probing whether lobbying influenced the department’s decision.
- The merger carries strong timing and cost pressure because deal terms include quarterly 'ticking fees' that could total about $650 million per quarter and a roughly $7 billion termination fee if regulators or courts force a prolonged delay, a risk that could affect jobs, consumers and studio output.