Paramount-WBD $110B Mega Merger Postponed Until Mid-2027
Hollywood’s most anticipated blockbuster deal has hit a serious legal roadblock. Paramount Skydance has agreed to delay its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) until as late as June 1, 2027 — nearly nine months behind its original September 2026 closing target — as the deal faces mounting antitrust legal challenges.
A coalition of state attorneys general, led by California’s Rob Bonta, filed suit to block the merger over competition concerns. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) also moved against the deal. A federal judge in California’s Northern District issued a temporary restraining order, before both parties agreed to the extended standstill. This still requires approval from U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín.
The delay comes at a steep financial price. Paramount agreed to pay WBD shareholders a “ticking fee” of approximately $7 million per day — roughly $650 million per quarter — beginning in October 2026. This means a delay to June 2027 could add an estimated $1.7 billion to the total deal price. Should the deal collapse entirely, Paramount would owe WBD a $7 billion breakup fee.
The blockbuster merger, first agreed to in February 2026 when David Ellison’s company outbid Netflix, would unite two major Hollywood studios, the streaming platforms HBO Max and Paramount+, and a suite of TV networks including CBS and CNN.
Source: CNBC – Paramount agrees to delay WBD acquisition to as late as June 2027, July 24, 2026