Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is on hold, possibly for many months, after the company agreed in a Friday federal court filing not to move forward with the deal until legal challenges are resolved.
The agreement, reported by NPR, sets a deadline of June 1, 2027, or five days after the underlying lawsuits conclude, whichever comes first. A coalition of a dozen states and the Writers Guild of America have challenged the roughly $111 billion deal on antitrust grounds.
The concession follows a temporary restraining order granted earlier in the week by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in Oakland, California, which had already blocked the merger from closing for 28 days. A hearing on a preliminary injunction, which would have barred Paramount from closing the deal while the states’ lawsuit proceeds, has now been canceled.
The states allege the merger would harm competition in three areas: wide theatrical film distribution, top-grossing theatrical releases and basic cable licensing. The proposed combination would unite Paramount and Warner’s film studios, merge streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max, and bring together CBS and MTV with CNN and HBO under one roof.
Twelve states, led by California, are part of the suit, including Minnesota, along with Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said allowing too few corporations to control markets central to American life “makes things more expensive, and it makes things worse.” New York Attorney General Leticia James called the pause “a critical victory in our efforts to uphold the law.”
Paramount said in a statement that it looks forward to proving its case at trial, calling the agreement “a direct path to a trial based on the evidence.” No trial date has been set.
The pause does not affect the so called ticking fee written into the merger terms. Paramount risks owing Warner $7 million per day for every day the deal is delayed past Sept. 30, though a spokesperson confirmed those fees are unaffected by Friday’s filing.
The delay adds fresh uncertainty to a deal that would reshape ownership of DC Studios and the Superman franchise, a thread the Daily Planet is continuing to track separately as sources respond to outreach.
