Attorney General Dan Rayfield is filing a motion to require that Paramount Skydance Corporation turn over documents related to an Oregon Department of Justice (ODOJ) investigation into its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Attorney General Rayfield is also asking a Multnomah County judge to delay the deal from closing for 60 days while the state reviews the company’s records.
Attorney General Rayfield says Paramount has spent weeks dodging and delaying a straightforward records request, all while racing to close its deal with Warner Bros. Discovery before the state can finish looking into it.
“We’re not going to let Paramount Skydance play hide the ball so they can rush through their massive merger,” said Attorney General Dan Rayfield. “Oregonians have a real stake in this deal – in our film industry, in our economy, in the choices they’ll have as consumers. Paramount had every opportunity to hand over records and answer a few basic questions. Instead, it is trying to run out the clock and evade scrutiny. We’re asking the court to make sure Oregonians get the answers they’re owed before this deal closes, not after.”
Oregon has been investigating the proposed merger since it was announced in February. As part of that work, ODOJ sent Paramount a narrow records request in June, asking for documents about the company’s lobbying of federal officials in support of the deal, its role in a U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) statement approving the merger, and an internal effort the company calls “Project Warrior.”
Paramount has not complied. According to court papers, the company declined to accept service of the request, waited weeks to respond, and ultimately sent objections on the day its documents were due – objections the state dismisses as a baseless tactic to avoid turning over the records. Paramount has told Oregon it does not intend to close the deal before July 16 but has not agreed to hold off any longer while the state’s investigation continues.
The state’s request asks the court to require Paramount to fully comply within three days of an order, and to bar the company from closing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery for 60 days from the date it substantially complies.
ODOJ will present its motion in person in Multnomah County Court tomorrow, July 8 at 1:30pm.
