Hollywood Deal: Trial on Warner takeover not until March

The planned takeover of Hollywood veteran Warner Brothers by rival Paramount will remain in limbo for some time. A judge has scheduled the trial on antitrust lawsuits filed by several US states and the Screenwriters Guild for early March next year. For Paramount, this makes the deal, which is already worth around $111 billion (around €96 billion), even more expensive.

In order to convince Warner shareholders, Paramount's management, led by CEO David Ellison, promised them additional payments of around $650 million per quarter if the takeover is not completed by the end of September. This means that Paramount will very likely have to pay at least $1.3 billion more.

For Paramount, time is of the essence. The companies set a deadline of June 4, 2027, to complete the takeover. If this deadline is not met, Warner Brothers can terminate the deal and collect a contractual penalty of $7 billion from Paramount. At the same time, the companies can also extend the deadline.

Paramount has suspended the purchase of Warner due to the antitrust lawsuits. Previously, Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín had indicated that she sees arguments for a preliminary injunction against the completion of the deal.

The takeover will now only be pursued after a decision on the lawsuits or at the latest on June 1, 2027. The lawsuit is also relevant because critics of the government of US President Donald Trump fear that the news channel CNN, which belongs to Warner Brothers, could lose its editorial independence under the roof of Paramount.

Paramount is backed by the family of software billionaire Larry Ellison, who is known to be a supporter of Trump. Originally, Warner had already decided to sell its streaming and studio business to Netflix last year.

However, Paramount did not let go and gave a higher bid for the entire Warner Bros. Discovery group, including television channels such as CNN. Critics of Trump point out that the Paramount channel CBS took on a friendlier tone towards the US government after the takeover by the Ellisons.

Trump had repeatedly stated that it was particularly important to him that the channel also change owners in the event of a Warner deal. At CNN, critics of his policy also get a say and claims made by the president are often subjected to a fact-check.