JPMorgan Leads $10B Loan for Paramount Skydance’s $110B Warner Bros. Discovery Deal
JPM•JPMorgan led the upsized $9 billion USD tranche of a $10 billion cross-border term loan, priced at S/E+275-300 with a 0% floor at 99 and six months of soft-call protection. The financing backs Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition and positions JPMorgan for substantial underwriting fees.
1. Deal Overview
Paramount Skydance agreed to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $31 per share in cash, valuing the combined business at an $81 billion equity value and $110 billion enterprise value. The acquisition is set to close in Q3 2026 with expected synergies exceeding $6 billion and net leverage target of 4.3x at closing.
2. JPMorgan’s Role
JPMorgan serves as lead-left agent on the facility and is part of a syndicate that includes Barclays, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, NatWest, RBC, UBS, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs. As agent, JPMorgan will coordinate lender communications and stand to collect agency and underwriting fees.
3. Loan Structure and Pricing
The term loan consists of a $9 billion USD tranche upsized from $5 billion alongside an unchanged €1 billion tranche. Price talk sits at S/E+275-300 with a 0% floor at 99, both tranches carry six months of soft-call protection at 101, and yields are pegged to 6.75%-7.01% (USD) and 5.31%-5.57% (EUR).
4. Implications for JPMorgan
This transaction bolsters JPMorgan’s leveraged finance pipeline and is expected to generate significant underwriting and agency fees. Leading a marquee $10 billion financing for a high-profile $110 billion deal reinforces the bank’s market-leading position in cross-border M&A financing.
