WASHINGTON—Following Paramount’s request that the 12 state plaintiffs in the ongoing antitrust challenge to the company’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery post a $1.88 billion bond, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, released the following statement from President Daniel Castro:
Paramount’s request for a bond is reasonable given the enormous costs that can result when litigation delays a merger after a thorough antitrust review finds no likely harm to competition or consumers.
A merger should not be blocked simply because it creates a larger and more formidable competitor. The question is whether it will actually reduce competition or harm consumers. The proposed Paramount–Warner Bros. deal will give two major American entertainment companies greater scale to compete with much larger technology companies and invest in new content and distribution models as streaming and generative AI rapidly transform the industry.
The Justice Department conducted an extensive eight-month investigation and concluded that the deal was unlikely to harm competition or American consumers. Competition authorities in the European Union, Canada, and numerous other jurisdictions have likewise cleared the transaction.
The states have the right to make their case in court, but they should not have an effective veto over a merger that federal antitrust authorities have reviewed and cleared. Antitrust enforcement should protect competition, not allow any one regulator or coalition of regulators to hold a transaction hostage indefinitely.
When states seek to block a merger, they should have to stand behind their challenge with an appropriate bond that accounts for the costs their litigation imposes.
Contact: Sydney Mack, [email protected]
