Paramount and a coalition of state attorneys general reach an agreement on when Paramount can close its Warner Bros. Discovery merger, amid a federal antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the deal. Multiple outlets report that the parties file a joint stipulation in court on Friday after disagreeing over a trial schedule. Paramount had urged the court to start an antitrust trial in November, while the government plaintiffs asked for an April start. The agreement results in a delay of the merger closing until after the antitrust proceeding is resolved. Reports say Paramount agrees not to close the roughly $111 billion transaction for at least a period that runs five days after a trial on the merits is held, or until a specified outside date as late as June 1, 2027, depending on how the case proceeds.
The delay also extends the pause already ordered by a federal judge earlier in the week, as legal challenges from the states continue and other parties, including the Writers Guild of America, pursue separate opposition. Coverage notes the U.S. Trump administration previously approved the deal without requiring changes, and the dispute continues in federal court.
