In a court filing posted on Friday, July 24, Paramount Skydance announced it is pausing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery until June 1, 2027, or at least until five days after an antitrust trial is held. The decision comes after the merger, which was expected to be completed this year, became beset by numerous legal challenges, with 12 state attorney generals, and the Writers Guild of America filing lawsuits to oppose the deal.
Paramount had hoped to close the deal before September 30, after which point it will be required to pay a daily $7 million “ticking fee” to impatient Warner Bros. investors. The state attorneys had obtained a temporary restraining order blocking the merger this week, which delayed its completion until at least late August. David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, had hoped for a hearing overturning the injunction beforehand, but his bid was denied in a ruling on Thursday by Araceli Martinez-Olguin, the judge for the Northern District of California.
A date for a trial has not been set. Rob Bonta, California’s attorney general, told Variety, “I’m sure [Paramount] want a fast trial. That’s based on other reasons, not what’s appropriate for a case of this magnitude.” He adds, “Paramount and Warner Bros. were dragging their feet. They didn’t give us everything we wanted. If they wanted to have a trial quicker, they could have given us the information we asked for in the pre-litigation discovery process.”
The move was celebrated by Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, and one of the coalition of 12 fighting the merger. In a statement, she says, “From the workers and artists who bring stories to life to the families who buy tickets at the box office, Paramount’s illegal takeover of Warner Bros. is a bad deal for all those who count on a competitive entertainment industry. 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. I look forward to continuing our case to stop this illegal merger.”
Despite the merger now being on hold, it had already begun to see a ripple effect on Paramount and Warner Bros.’s projects, with films from the former like Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol maintaining their release dates, while ones from the latter (including DC’s The Batman: Part II) got delayed. At the very least, the delay will prevent the Trump-friendly Ellisons from having control of CNN during this year’s midterm elections.
