Roundup: Pennington / Judge blocks media merger / BlackRock backs data center

Research grant renewed: LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center has received a five-year, $5.66 million renewal of its Nutrition Obesity Research Center grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, extending support through 2031 and reinforcing its role as one of only 11 NIH-funded centers of its kind in the U.S. The grant supports the shared research infrastructure, advanced scientific cores, pilot funding and statewide collaborations that help more than 200 Louisiana researchers advance discoveries in nutrition, obesity and metabolic health. 

Paramount deal paused: A federal judge has temporarily blocked Paramount’s proposed $81 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery for at least 14 days, giving a coalition of 12 states led by California more time to challenge the deal in court. The states argue the merger would reduce competition in Hollywood, limit consumer choice and consolidate too much power over film, television, streaming and news under one company. Paramount, on the other hand, maintains the merger would strengthen its ability to compete with larger entertainment companies and plans to vigorously defend the deal.  A hearing on a preliminary injunction is scheduled for Aug. 3. The Associated Press has the full story.

Debt financing: BlackRock is seeking to sell more than $12 billion in bonds to finance Meta’s AI-focused data center campus in El Paso, Texas, with the debt issued through a holding company that owns an 80% stake in the project while Meta owns the remaining 20%. The financing reflects a broader surge in AI infrastructure borrowing, as major technology companies are expected to invest trillions in AI by 2030, much of it funded through debt markets. The El Paso data center is expected to open in 2028, following a financing model Meta has also used for its Hyperion data center project in Louisiana, allowing it to expand AI infrastructure while keeping much of the related debt off its balance sheet. Bloomberg has the full story.