Paramount: 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 competition lawsuits from several US states and the screenwriters' union for early March next year. For Paramount, this makes the deal, which is already worth around $111 billion, even more expensive.

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.

Furthermore, time is running out. The companies set a deadline of June 4, 2027, to complete the takeover. If it expires, 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 suspended the Warner acquisition after competition 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 pushed forward 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 CNN news channel, which belongs to Warner Brothers, could lose its editorial independence under the roof of Paramount.

Behind Paramount stands the family of software billionaire Larry Ellison, who is known as 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 stations such as CNN. Trump critics point out that the Paramount station CBS took 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 station also change owners in a Warner deal. At CNN, critics of his policy also get a say and claims by the president are often subjected to a fact-check.