By Jody Godoy
July 7 (Reuters) – The Oregon attorney general will ask a court to order Paramount to comply with investigative demands related to its bid to acquire Warner Bros, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.
Paramount intends to close the deal on or immediately after July 16, the state said in documents to be filed in court. Oregon will seek an expedited hearing on the matter, or an order that would prevent the deal from closing until a hearing can be held, according to the documents.
A Paramount spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
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.
The state wants the documents in order to evaluate the U.S. Department of Justice’s clearance of the deal, according to the documents.
While Oregon ordinarily “would afford significant weight” to the DOJ’s determination, the state cited a Wall Street Journal report that officials overrode career staff attorneys at the DOJ who were leaning towards a recommendation to challenge the deal.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York and Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Tom Hogue and Sonali Paul)
