Privately, some top executives at Warner Bros. Discovery are rooting for the 12 states that have sued to block Paramount Skydance’s WBD takeover to win in court and get the megadeal nixed.
What’s obvious, according to multiple sources, is that there’s a sizable contingent at Warner Bros. of people who don’t want the merger with Paramount to happen. And the prevailing feeling among some at WBD clearly is a hope that the state attorneys general lawsuit will gum up the works long enough to cause the deal to fall apart.
In a memo distributed to WBD staff Monday afternoon, Simon Robinson, the company’s president of global experiences and studio operations and the executive who is leading the integration planning work, provided an update on the merger’s legal situation. “We are confident we will prevail and firmly believe this transaction is pro-competitive and will deliver significant benefits to the industry,” Robinson wrote.
Paramount has agreed to put the Warner Bros. Discovery merger on ice pending the outcome of the trial in the antitrust case brought by 12 Democratic state AGs. That will delay the merger for at least a few months, and potentially up to a year or more, as the litigation plays out in court. The next step in the process will be negotiating for the trial date: Paramount wants it to start this fall, while the states want it to commence in 2027. The parties could potentially negotiate a settlement. But if the case goes to trial and the states prevail, Paramount would appeal the decision — and the merger could remain in legal limbo into the back half of 2027.
