Hollywood-Deal: Prozess zu Warner-Übernahme erst im März

The planned acquisition of Hollywood giant Warner Brothers by rival Paramount is still in limbo. A judge set a trial for competition lawsuits brought by several US states and the Writers Guild for early March of the coming year. This delays the already $111 billion (approximately €96 billion) deal for Paramount. To convince Warner shareholders, Paramount executives promised them additional payments of around $650 million per quarter if the takeover isn't finalized by the end of September.

This likely means Paramount will have to pay at least $1.3 billion more. Paramount is also running out of time. They set a deadline of June 4, 2027, to complete the takeover. If it passes, Warner Brothers can cancel the deal and pay a $7 billion contractual fine to Paramount. Paramount paused the Warner acquisition after the competition lawsuits.

Initially, Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín signaled she sees arguments for an injunction against the deal's closure. The takeover should now proceed after a decision on the lawsuits or at least by June 1, 2027. The case is also relevant because critics of US President Donald Trump's administration fear that Warner Brothers-owned news channel CNN might lose its editorial independence under Paramount's ownership.

Paramount is backed by the family of billionaire Larry Ellison, known as a Trump supporter. Originally, Warner had already decided to sell the streaming and studio business to Netflix last year. However, Paramount refused and offered a higher bid for the entire Warner Bros. Discovery, including TV channels like CNN. Trump critics point out that CNN became more friendly towards the US administration after joining Paramount.

Trump had repeatedly stated he particularly wanted the CNN ownership to change under a Warner deal. In the case of CNN, there are also criticisms of his policies, and his statements are often subjected to fact-checking.