Paramount Skydance And Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Delayed Until 2027 Amid Antitrust Challenge

Paramount Skydance has agreed to postpone the completion of its planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery until at least June 2027 while a federal judge reviews legal challenges seeking to block the transaction.

The agreement expands on the temporary two-week pause previously granted by Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín on July 20 after 12 states filed a joint lawsuit opposing the deal. According to The New York Times, the extended delay will only take effect once it receives the court's approval.

Under the new arrangement, Paramount has agreed that it "will not take any steps, directly or indirectly, to integrate or consolidate their operations" until June 1, 2027, or five days after the court issues a ruling on whether the proposed acquisition violates U.S. antitrust law.

Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Faces Extended Legal Pause

The latest agreement also reshapes the legal timeline surrounding the merger. A hearing that had been scheduled for August 3 has been canceled, while the coalition of state attorneys general and both branches of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have withdrawn their requests for preliminary injunctions.

Instead, the parties are expected to submit revised trial schedules for their separate legal cases by July 31.

In a statement provided to Engadget, the WGA said:

"Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery today agreed to what the state Attorneys General and the WGA both sought from the court: the merger will be put on hold pending the outcome of the states' and the WGA's cases or until June 1, 2027, whichever comes first. It remains our view that this merger is unlawful, and we will continue the fight to block it."

Antitrust Lawsuit Becomes Biggest Obstacle To Paramount's Acquisition

Paramount outbid Netflix to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in February in a transaction valued at approximately $111 billion, or $31 per share.

The proposed merger has already secured approval from the U.S. Department of Justice in June. It also received conditional clearance from the European Commission after Paramount agreed to exit a European distribution arrangement with Universal.

Despite those regulatory approvals, opposition from the coalition of 12 states and the Writers Guild of America has emerged as the primary hurdle to completing the transaction.

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The extended delay could also carry a financial cost. If the merger is pushed beyond the end of September, Paramount estimates the postponement will cost $0.25 per share each quarter, amounting to roughly $7 million per day.

Even so, the company maintains that proceeding through the court process is beneficial.

"This is the fastest and clearest way to prove that this transaction is good for competition, good for consumers, and good for creators," the company tells The New York Times.