Court allows Paramount to complete $111 billion merger with Warner Bros.

Paramount Skydance has obtained court approval to complete its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery for approximately $111 billion. The companies have announced the expected closing date for one of the largest deals in media industry history — October 6.

Federal Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín on September 30 approved the settlement agreement between Paramount and California and 11 other U.S. states, the Los Angeles Times reports. The court did not add any new conditions to the agreement.

The most important decision concerns the current injunction on closing the deal. The court modified it to allow Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery to complete the merger. The coalition of states' antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the acquisition has thus been resolved. This is also confirmed in the document Paramount filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

As previously reported by Kurs Ukrainy, on September 21 Paramount reached a settlement with the states to resolve the dispute. The company undertook a series of commitments regarding film production and distribution, support for employees, and the operation of the combined media group. However, the agreement still required approval by a federal court.

A few days later, the procedure faced a new delay: the judge requested additional materials and did not automatically approve the agreement. That stage has now been completed.

Following the court ruling, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery officially announced they expect to close the merger on October 6 subject to the satisfaction of standard closing conditions. After completion of the transaction, Warner Bros. Discovery will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Paramount Skydance.

Under the agreement, Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders will receive $31 per share in cash. Because the transaction was not completed by September 30, a daily ticking fee provided for in the agreement for delay in closing began to accrue.

The merger will bring under one owner the major film and television assets of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, including Warner Bros., HBO, CNN, CBS, Paramount Pictures and their streaming platforms.

Sources: Los Angeles Times, Paramount Skydance, SEC filing Paramount