DOJ seeks $1.9 billion bond from states blocking Paramount merger

On Sept. 15, 2026 the Justice Department filed a statement of interest backing Paramount’s demand that 12 states and the Writers Guild of America post a $1.88 billion bond tied to the delayed closing of Paramount’s proposed $110-111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount faces $7 million daily penalty fees to WBD shareholders starting Oct. 1 after missing a Sept. 30 close. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín issued a temporary restraining order on July 20; Paramount then voluntarily agreed on July 24 to delay closing. A bond hearing is set for Sept. 24, with trial in March. Paramount has antitrust approvals in nearly 70 jurisdictions worldwide. What is contested: The DOJ argues a bond “forces parties to have skin in the game,” that Section 16 of the Clayton Act gives private plaintiffs a cause of action but “does not otherwise allow a winning defendant to recoup damages wrongly suffered during the pendency of the litigation,” and that the bond “provides for compensation that otherwise is not available.” It states Congress made federal and private antitrust enforcement “not a system of equals.” California Attorney General Rob Bonta rejected the demand as meritless and reportedly “desperate,” arguing the court never formally ordered an injunction, Paramount voluntarily delayed closing, and the studio knowingly accepted the fee risk while bidding against Netflix. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser called the DOJ an “inconsistent and unreliable enforcer of antitrust law.” Martínez-Olguín already denied a similar bond request in July after finding the states sued to serve public interests; opponents also say Paramount waived security by agreeing not to finalize until June 2027 pending the March trial. The Sept. 24 bond ruling and the March trial remain unresolved.