PARAMOUNT has said it will not close its $110-billion acquisition of Warner Bros before July 22, the Oregon attorney general’s office said on Wednesday, pushing out the timeline for the deal’s closure by an additional week.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s office asked a court in Multnomah County on Wednesday to order the company to hand over records and delay the deal by 60 days so the state can review them.
Paramount had previously told Oregon that it would not close the deal before July 16, Rayfield’s office said. At a preliminary hearing on the state’s request on Wednesday, the company amended that timeline, his office said.
Separately, Paramount has offered remedies to address EU competition concerns in a move that could help the media giant gain European Commission approval for the deal, including ditching its film distribution joint venture with Universal Pictures, sources told Reuters last week.
The commission then extended its deadline for its decision to July 22 from July 7 to give it time to assess the remedy.
In June, Reuters reported several US states, including Oregon, were preparing a lawsuit against Paramount as state officials look to ramp up their scrutiny of big mergers and acquisitions as federal antitrust authorities have loosened restrictions.
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