A dozen US states have joined together to block the $110bn (£85bn) merger between Warner Bros. and Paramount, claiming the largest media consolidation in Hollywood history would stifle competition and raise consumer prices.

A lawsuit has been filed by 12 states, led by California, where Paramount and Warner Bros keep their headquarters and production studios.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta claimed the merger would end up harming "audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the US".

If it goes ahead, the new company would account for over a quarter of major film releases. Together with Disney, Universal, and Sony, just four conglomerates would control 86% percent of that market.

US news website Semafor reported that David Ellison, the controlling owner and chief executive of Paramount Skydance and son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison, has been urged by advisers to move the company's operations out of California. Paramount has been based in the state for more than 100 years.

Bonta told BBC World Service that he was aware of the report, adding: "I heard that as an explicit statement".

"I'll even say it felt like a threat last night, and it felt like a last-ditch effort to blackmail the regulators into allowing an illegal deal to go through," Bonta said.

"It didn't work. It won't work. It doesn't work."