Paramount Skydance has agreed to delay its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, indefinitely until the legal challenges from several US states are resolved.

The delay comes after a dozen states challenged the legality of the merger, with California leading the charge and securing a temporary restraining order against the deal from Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín.

New York Attorney General Letitia James sees this as a victory for competition: “Halting this merger while our case proceeds is a critical victory in our efforts to uphold the law and protect the film and television industries”. Paramount, however, views it differently, stating that they have achieved their goal of moving directly towards a trial based on evidence.

The states argue that the merger would significantly reduce competition by combining two major Hollywood studios and two top cable TV owners. The US Department of Justice initially leaned towards blocking the deal but was overruled by the Trump administration’s approval, much to the surprise of its own staff lawyers.