Warner Bros’ M&A horror show has a happy side-plot

Paramount Skydance said on July 24 that it would postpone the closing date of its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery until June 2027 or until it resolves a legal challenge brought by a group of 12 state attorneys general.

Led by California, the group sued to stop the deal on July 13.

Paramount agreed to pay WBD shareholders a quarterly fee amounting to approximately $650 million per period if the deal does not close by September 30.

The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority said on August 6 that it has cleared the merger.

Warner Bros Discovery WBD.O is starring in its own M&A horror franchise. The studio behind “The Exorcist” and “Nightmare on Elm Street” once again faces a nasty regulatory scare, after state attorneys general sued to block its $110 billion tie-up with Paramount Skydance PSKY.O. Predecessor company Time Warner featured in a similar legal bind during its fraught sale to AT&T T.N. An enterprising fund manager, however, could make a mint on the frightful stock reaction twice over.