Paramount agrees to delay Warner Bros. merger

SAN FRANCISCO: 

SAN FRANCISCO: Paramount Skydance agreed on Friday to delay its $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery while a US lawsuit seeking to block the deal moves forward.

If the merger eventually closes, the new combined company would reshape the entertainment and media industry, in addition to delivering a major win to its owners, the Ellison family, who are close allies of US President Donald Trump.

Paramount agreed to delay the deal through June 2027, the company said in a court filing on Friday.

The Trump administration approved the blockbuster deal on June 12 without demanding a single change, clearing the way for one of the largest media mergers in years.

A federal judge in California ordered the companies to temporarily pause the deal in a ruling on Monday, just two days before the European Union gave the merger a conditional green light.