Oregon just pulled its motion — and half the internet is already acting like the merger’s obituary got torn up. Not so fast. If you're just joining: federal antitrust clearance didn't end the Paramount-WBD fight. Oregon went to Multnomah County Circuit Court asking for documents and a 60-day pause — it said it needed more time to review records tied to lobbying and regulatory strategy. California, separately, is still raising concerns about possible antitrust issues. So even after the feds signed off, the state-level challenge was very much alive. This is Paramount Skydance Watch. One state just blinked — now we find out if that's a coalition cracking or just one player folding. Let's get into it. From Gesi Lloyd at Rolling Out:
Oregon’s attorney general has withdrawn a motion seeking to delay the closing of Paramount’s roughly $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to a filing submitted Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. The move clears one obstacle from a deal that could close as soon as July 22, though the transaction still faces scrutiny from other states and international regulators.
So Oregon pulled its 60-day delay motion Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. That's exactly the kind of collapse I'd expect when a state can't build the injunction record it needs — the play folded before it ever became a serious blocking attempt. Careful, though — the motion is withdrawn, the investigation is not. Rayfield's own spokesperson said Paramount made clear it wouldn't comply with the investigative demand. Oregon walked away from the courthouse steps still holding a grudge; it didn't clear the deal. Fair. But the state-court lane and the financing close were always separate tracks. Oregon backing out of one doesn't touch the other states or the EU window. Right, and that's my problem with calling this 'breathing room.' The deal could close as soon as July 22, sure — but the EU decision and California's outside counsel are still live gates. One state blinking doesn't move those clocks. So define that for us: when people say the deal has 'breathing room' now, do they mean it's basically approved, or are there still gates that could slow or change the closing? No — not in any finish-line sense. 'Breathing room' means some of the biggest early hurdles are gone, while the deal still has to get through multiple separate processes. Start with DOJ: the Antitrust Division cleared the merger back in June, with no required divestitures or concessions, according to Variety. That's significant. It also doesn't bind everyone else. In Europe, the EU has been running a standard competition review; per Politico, the companies were told they'd likely get clearance if they cut ties with Universal Pictures on film distribution in several EU countries through the United International Pictures joint venture. Separately, the European Commission opened a probe under the EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation, looking at roughly $24 billion in financing from the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. That probe had a provisional July 14 deadline. The UK government has also signaled it's 'minded to intervene,' so London isn't closed either. And in the U.S., Oregon and California are both investigating whether the $111 billion transaction violates their antitrust laws. Those proceedings are active. Oregon looked like it might force a real delay — what happened there, and does dropping that motion mean the state is done? Oregon's AG did withdraw the specific court motion seeking a 60-day delay — that filing was dropped in Multnomah County Circuit Court on July 11, according to Variety. But the underlying antitrust investigation is still open, and the filing itself noted that Oregon, along with California, could still seek a court injunction to block the deal before any closing date. So the state-level front has moved off immediate-emergency footing, but it hasn't gone away. And the July 22 window the companies have pointed to still depends on European regulators finishing their work. If Paramount Skydance Watch is part of your daily routine, take a moment to subscribe and leave a review wherever you’re listening. It really helps other people find the show, and it helps us keep this briefing sharp.
Next, we're watching two checkpoints: the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation probe's provisional July 14 deadline, and July 22, when the deal could close if state or overseas reviews don't create another delay.
You'll find links to every story we mentioned in the show notes, so dip into whichever ones you want to follow more closely. That's Paramount Skydance Watch for today. This is a Lantern Podcast.