:INFO
Paramount Buys Warner Bros. Discovery: $111 Billion
In the biggest media deal since the AOL-Time Warner disaster of 2000, Paramount Skydance is buying Warner Bros. Discovery for $110.9 billion in cash, paying $31 per share. The deal received DOJ approval in June 2026, shareholder approval in April, and is targeting a close before September 30, 2026. On July 13, twelve state attorneys general filed an antitrust lawsuit to block it, led by California's Rob Bonta. Paramount says the deal is pro-competitive. The merged company will control more than half of the most-watched content on American screens.
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The Empire Being Built: What You Now Get Under One Roof
[ ] - HBO and Max | The prestige TV home of The Last of Us, The White Lotus, House of the Dragon, Succession, The Wire, Game of Thrones, and True Detective, combined with the on-demand library that built prestige television as a concept.
[ ] - Paramount+ and CBS | America's most-watched broadcast network, plus Paramount+, plus the NFL, plus NCIS, plus Star Trek, plus The Good Fight. Paramount's streaming arm was growing faster than any competitor in early 2026.
[ ] - The DC Universe | Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, and the entire DC Comics back catalogue now sit in the same company as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and the Conjuring universe. One franchise library to rule them all.
[ ] - Harry Potter and Wizarding World | Warner's crown jewel. The original eight films, Fantastic Beasts, the Cursed Child theatrical rights and the forthcoming HBO series now in production. The most culturally durable franchise Hollywood has produced.
[ ] - CNN and news | CNN, CNN International, CNN Max, and a combined news operation that now shares infrastructure with the entertainment and sports divisions. No media company has combined hard news with a franchise entertainment empire at this scale before.
[ ] - Mission Impossible, Top Gun, and Paramount classics | Ethan Hunt, Maverick, The Godfather, Chinatown, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Indiana Jones (legacy rights), Forrest Gump, Titanic, and Transformers all under the same roof as WBD's library.
[ ] - Animation and kids | SpongeBob SquarePants (Paramount), Looney Tunes (Warner), Tom and Jerry, and Cartoon Network's catalogue, forming the deepest animation vault outside Disney.
[ ] - Sports rights | CBS Sports, TNT Sports, and Bleacher Report combined into one rights package at a moment when live sport is the only content that forces real-time viewing and linear ad dollars.
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[icon:INFO] How It Happened
Netflix signed a deal to buy Warner's studio and streaming divisions in December 2025 for $72 billion. Paramount launched a hostile all-company bid at $30 per share in January. Warner's board rejected it. Paramount raised to $31. Netflix said it would not match. Warner's board flipped, calling the Paramount bid a "superior proposal." Shareholders voted yes on April 23, 2026. The DOJ cleared the deal on June 13, citing no competitive concern. Then twelve state AGs file
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[icon:WARNING] What Could Still Stop It
The coalition of state attorneys general is seeking a temporary restraining order and then a preliminary injunction. If either is granted, the deal could be frozen while litigation plays out, possibly pushing past the September 30 deadline. That triggers a $0.25 per share quarterly ticking fee, roughly $7 million per day, paid by Paramount to Warner shareholders. Paramount also faces a $7 billion regulatory termination fee if regulators ultimately kill the
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:QUOTE [quotetype:plain, subtitle:Jeffrey Kessler]
This transaction is pro-competitive. It creates a company better able to compete against the streaming giants who already dominate global entertainment. State attorneys general cannot rewrite federal antitrust law.
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The combined company will be required to exit Paramount's joint venture with Universal Pictures for international film distribution, a condition imposed by the European Commission. That concession was the price of EU approval. Combined, the new entity will be the only media company in history to own the distribution pipeline, the prestige streaming service, the broadcast network, the news channel, and the superhero franchise all at once, except Disney, which is watching closely.
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:LINK
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/paramount-warner-bros-discovery-merger-1236629853/
Hollywood Reporter: Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger coverage