Paramount WBD merger delay could push takeover to June 2027
Paramount Skydance agreed to delay its Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition amid a legal challenge, a move CNBC reports will raise the price.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
2 min read
The Paramount WBD merger delay could push Paramount Skydance’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery to as late as June 2027, CNBC reported Friday, as the deal runs into a legal challenge.
The new timing amounts to a delay of several months for the proposed acquisition. CNBC reported that the extension will also lift the final deal price, though the report did not give a revised figure.
Paramount Skydance cast the agreement as a victory, saying Friday that it gives the company the court timetable it wanted.
“The result is exactly what we have sought from the outset: a direct path to a trial based on the evidence,” Paramount said in its statement.
The company said the trial route is, in its view, “the fastest and clearest way” to show that the transaction would benefit competition, consumers and creators. Paramount also said dozens of competition authorities around the world had already reached that conclusion.
Why is the Paramount WBD merger delayed?
The delay is tied to a legal challenge to the proposed combination, according to CNBC. Paramount’s statement referred to “plaintiffs” and their market definitions, but the report did not identify the plaintiffs or spell out the claims in detail.
Paramount argued that the challengers are using a view of the market that does not match current conditions. The company said those market definitions “bear no relationship to the realities of today’s marketplace” and said it expects them to fail under review.
Because the acquisition is being challenged in court, the revised schedule gives the parties more time to reach trial before the deal can be completed. Paramount said it looks forward to presenting its case there.
What the delay means for the deal
For now, the central change is timing. Paramount Skydance has agreed that its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery can be delayed until as late as June 2027, according to CNBC.
The delay does not mean the transaction has been abandoned. Paramount’s public statement shows the company is still pressing ahead and plans to defend the tie-up in court.
The company’s argument is also clear: Paramount says the deal is pro-competition and good for consumers and creators. The legal challengers, according to Paramount’s statement, are relying on market definitions the company says will not hold up.
CNBC reported the agreement Friday and said the story was still developing. No additional details were provided in the report about the new price, the exact prior deadline or the schedule for trial.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.