Paramount, WBD Put $110-Billion Merger on Hold Until Court Ruling or June 2027
The standstill follows antitrust challenges from 12 states and the Writers Guild of America, while Paramount faces a $7 million daily fee after Sept. 30.
- On Friday, July 24, Paramount Skydance Corporation agreed to delay its $81 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery until June 1, 2027, or five days after a federal court rules on antitrust challenges.
- A coalition of 12 states, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, sued to block the merger, alleging it would 'extinguish competition.' U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín granted a restraining order freezing the transaction.
- Paramount pledged to pay Warner shareholders roughly $7 million per day if the deal remains unclosed after September 30, a cost structure potentially adding nearly $1.7 billion to the total purchase price.
- Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at Forrester, noted the delay materially reduces near-term concerns that a 'politicized Paramount' would control CNN during the 2026 midterms, though uncertainty persists.
- The Justice Department declined to challenge the merger, but state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America maintain the deal would reduce competition and harm workers, leaving the outcome uncertain.
31 Articles
31 Articles
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Paramount, WBD put $110-billion merger on hold until court ruling or June 2027
New Delhi: Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery have agreed not to complete their proposed merger until five days after a federal court rules on the antitrust challenges to the transaction or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first. The agreement places one of Hollywood’s largest proposed consolidations on hold after a coalition of 12 US states and the Writers Guild of America filed separate lawsuits seeking to block the deal. The transacti…
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