July 10 (Reuters) – The Oregon attorney general’s office said on Friday it has withdrawn its court motion to delay Paramount’s proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros.
“Paramount made it clear that they weren’t going to comply with the investigative demand, and that they think they’re above the law. We’re not going to let them waste Oregonians’ resources on these games,” Oregon Department of Justice said in a statement to Reuters.
“We’ve withdrawn the motion to consider our next steps,” the statement added.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s office earlier this week asked a court in Multnomah County to order the company to hand over records and delay the deal by 60 days so the state can review them, and said Paramount agreed not to close the transaction before July 22 amid the state’s review.
Oregon is seeking documents regarding “Project Warrior,” which was Paramount’s internal code name for efforts to obtain regulatory clearance. The state is also asking for records related to the company’s efforts to lobby the Trump administration for support of the merger.
“We are pleased that the Oregon Attorney General has withdrawn its motion to delay this transaction,” a Paramount spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters, calling the merger “lawful” and “pro-competitive.”
The deal, which would combine two of Hollywood’s four major studios, has drawn criticism from actors, writers and others in Hollywood who fear job losses. It also faces scrutiny from other U.S. states, which could sue to block the acquisition as early as next week over competition concerns, Reuters has reported.
(Reporting by Devika Nair and Preetika Parashuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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