Paramount’s Acquisition Of Warner Bros. Discovery Update – State Attorneys Generals Lawsuit Against Paramount Trial Date Set for March 2027

As noted before, Warner Bros Discovery announced this past April that their shareholders had voted in approval of Paramount Skydance’s acquisition deal for the company. The United States Department of Justice had officially approved Paramount’s acquisition deal this past June. Several state attorneys generals filed a joint lawsuit and the Writer’s Guild of America also filed a lawsuit this past July against Paramount to try to prevent the acquisition deal from going through. Paramount agreed to put their deal on hold until either June of 2027 or the lawsuits are resolved. WBD is the current media broadcast partner of AEW.

Deadline reported that U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín has set a trial date of March of 2027 for the joint lawsuit by several state attorneys generals seeking to halt Paramount’s acquisition and merger deal with WBD.

This trial is currently scheduled to take place at some point between March 2 to March 19 next year.

It was reported that Paramount will now be on the hook to pay WBD shareholders $7 million in penalty fees for every day that the transaction doesn’t close after September 30 as per terms of their acquisition deal.

It was also reported that Paramount’s deal has an expiration date of June 4, 2027 and if it is not closed by then, Paramount agreed to pay a $7 billion termination fee to WBD.

In an official statement to the outlet, a Paramount spokesperson stated:

“We respect the court’s decision and continue to believe a trial on the merits is the best and most direct way for us to prove what we’ve said from the start – this transaction is lawful, pro-competitive, and raises no antitrust concerns. The lawsuit against us has no basis in fact, economics or antitrust law. We will continue to vigorously defend the transaction and remain committed to closing as soon as possible so its benefits for the creative community and consumers can be realized.”