Paramount Skydance agreed to pause its acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery until after a ruling on a challenge by states to the deal, plunging the $110 billion deal into further uncertainty.
The decision comes days after European regulators approved the deal, with conditions requiring Paramount to end a major film distribution partnership with Universal Pictures in the region.
With the deal on hold in the U.S., emergency court hearings have been cancelled.
Despite the court freeze, Paramount and Warner Bros. insist that combining their operations is necessary to compete with streaming giants and technology companies.
Paramount called the agreement a "significant win", saying it provides a "direct path to a trial based on the evidence."
The company said a trial would be the "fastest" way to prove the merger is beneficial for competition, consumers and creators. The U.S. Department of Justice approved the deal in June.
The agreement pausing the deal until next June, at the latest, trims a few weeks off the case schedule. But it also comes with a price.
Paramount could owe as much as $1.7 billion in ticking fees to Warner Bros. shareholders if the deal is delayed until then. The fee costs $7 million a day if the merger does not close by 30 September.
"We look forward to proving our case at trial," Paramount's spokesperson said.
California and 11 states sued on 13 July, arguing the deal would create a media behemoth with the power to raise prices in film and television.
"Halting this merger while our case proceeds is a critical victory in our efforts to uphold the law and protect the film and television industries," said New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is suing to block the deal.
State officials and Hollywood unions argue that combining two major studios would give one company excessive control over the entertainment industry.
They warn that the merger could reduce bargaining power for writers and crews, limit project opportunities and reduce choices for viewers.
Paramount has argued that audiences would benefit from the merger, promising to release 30 films in cinemas annually- double its current output.
Iran will soon join the New Development Bank (NDB), the lender established by BRICS nations, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said in a state ...
The Democratic Republic of Congo says the number of confirmed Ebola cases has risen to nearly 4,500, including more than 2,060 deaths. Delayed detecti...
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has outlined an expanded vision for the Zangezur Corridor, describing it not simply as a transport route connectin...
One hundred years after the First World War and more than eighty years after the devastation of the Second World War gave rise to the United Nations, humanity once again finds itself living in an age of permanent crisis.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Iran to pay compensation for decades of deaths and damage, adding a new demand to peace talks as Tehran seeks compensation and sanctions relief before reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
A criminal court in Damascus has sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia is preparing to deploy additional North Korean forces on its territory and has received more ballistic missiles from Pyongyang, arguing that their growing military cooperation poses a threat beyond Ukraine.
Norway’s $2.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund has revealed a 0.05 per cent stake in SpaceX worth $1.22 billion, marking its first reported holding in Elon Musk’s space company.
U.S. data analytics firm Palantir Technologies has reported a 93 per cent year-on-year jump in second-quarter revenue, even as the company faces continued criticism over its work with Israel's military and allegations linking its technology to the war in Gaza.a.
Rising trade across the Caspian Sea is strengthening Georgia’s role as a logistics hub and could help the country develop higher-value industries, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Ford raised its full-year earnings forecast after reporting stronger-than-expected second-quarter adjusted profit, as resilient demand for its vehicles and operational improvements helped offset tariff-related costs.
SK Hynix reported record quarterly profit on Wednesday, but its shares slumped 10 per cent after the South Korean chipmaker fell short of investor expectations built around the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment