Is ‘Obsession' Technically A Blockbuster? Lawyers For Paramount, State AGs Spar At Court Hearing On WBD Merger

Obsession and F1 were front and center as lawyers representing Paramount on one side, and a dozen State Attorneys General on the other, clashed at a Friday hearing over what determines a blockbuster, and how quickly the AGs' antitrust challenge to Paramount's merger with Warner Bros Discovery should be moved along. Jeffrey Kessler on behalf of Paramount requested Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the Northern District of California dispense with a temporary restraining order and promised Par would not close the deal early if she promised to rule on a preliminary injunction by the beginning of September. That timetable could potentially avert “very severe harm” to Paramount from a so-called ticking fee – addition payouts by Paramount to WBD shareholders staring October 1 if the deal has not been finalized.