Paramount Skydance Settles State Lawsuits, Clearing Path for $110B Warner Bros. Discovery Merger
PSKY sits 41% above its 52-week low of $7.62.
Summary
Paramount Skydance settled with 12 states and the Writers Guild, clearing the last major legal obstacle to its $110B acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The settlement requires at least $300M more annual U.S. film production, 30 theatrical releases in each of the first two years and 32 annually for the next three, five-year theatrical-release requirements, and a three-year restriction on raising theater operator rates. It also establishes an independent editorial board for CBS and CNN. The deal avoids a $7M per day ticking fee that would have started October 1. With the four holdout states conceding, the merger is now expected to close imminently. Senators Warren and Murphy criticized the settlement. Shares closed down 2.94% at $9.91, then rose 1.37% after hours to $10.05.
Updated with a Benzinga report · What changed
Updates
· dpa-AFX — Settlement terms include a $1.5B domestic film production commitment, a $47.5M workforce fund, and enforceable film output requirements with a Miramax divestiture penalty. Warner Bros. shares rose 10.8%, Paramount fell 2.94%.
· Benzinga — Settlement terms include at least $300M more annual U.S. film production, 30 movies in each of the first two years and 32 annually for the next three, five-year theatrical-release requirements, and a three-year restriction on raising theater operator rates. Senators Warren and Murphy criticized the deal; shares closed down 2.94% at $9.91, then rose 1.37% after hours to $10.05.
At the time of this announcement, PSKY was trading at $10.77 on NASDAQ in the Trade & Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $12.1B. The 52-week trading range was $7.62 to $20.86. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 9 out of 10. Source: Seeking Alpha.