New York, June 7, 2026, 12:06 PM (EDT)
Paramount Skydance Deal Faces Heat, Warner Bros. Discovery Drops Again
Warner Bros. Discovery shares edged lower before the new week, with the Paramount Skydance takeover move facing new hurdles as Hollywood labor groups protested the $110 billion tie-up and states moved toward an antitrust suit. The Nasdaq-listed WBD stock finished Friday at $26.24 after dropping 2.81%, then eased to $26.13 in lighter after-hours action.
Markets are closed for the weekend, so there’s no action in U.S. equities until Monday. Nasdaq stocks will trade again from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern, with the next real look at buying coming up on Monday, June 8.
Paramount’s $31-a-share cash offer is much higher than where the stock is trading now. The deal spread signals skepticism in merger trading—investors price in the chance the deal gets delayed, changed, or doesn’t happen. Back in February, Reuters said Warner Bros. Discovery accepted a $110 billion buyout offer from Paramount Skydance, after Netflix walked away from the talks.
Paramount’s Warner Bros. Deal Faces State Lawsuit, Both Stocks Drop California, New York and some other states are gearing up to sue to stop Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, Reuters reported Friday, citing people with knowledge of the situation. Warner Bros. Discovery shares dropped after the news and were still off 3.6% Friday afternoon. Paramount shares fell further as well.
WBD dropped about 2.9% for the week, going from $27.01 at the close on May 29 to $26.24 by Friday, according to Yahoo Finance history and Google Finance’s latest numbers. That’s not much for a typical media stock, but it stands out for a takeover candidate that’s trading under a supposed fixed cash bid.
Hollywood Workers Push Back Against Paramount-Skydance Deal in L.A. Rally
Roughly 100 people turned out in Los Angeles on Saturday for the kickoff of a “Main Street vs. The Merger” tour, with backing from advocacy groups, the Writers Guild of America, and industry workers. Speakers said the proposed deal could lead to job losses and leave fewer buyers for film and TV projects. Reuters
Paramount-Skydance Merger Could Face Labor Pushback, Says UPenn Economist
Ioana Marinescu, a University of Pennsylvania economist who helped shape Biden-era DOJ labor-market rules, said California might use labor arguments if it takes on the deal. “There isn’t necessarily a very close substitute,” Marinescu said about some workers’ job prospects if the studios merge. Reuters
Paramount pushes back after pushback. Paramount Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim told Reuters the company is “always prepared to remedy” real antitrust issues, but says it doesn’t see any in this deal. CEO David Ellison also promised at least 30 theatrical releases a year from the merged firm. Reuters
Deadline Looms for EU Decision on Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal Paramount has asked the European Union for antitrust clearance on the Warner Bros. Discovery tie-up, with the European Commission facing a July 7 deadline to approve, ask for changes, or push the deal into a full review. U.S. Justice Department action could land soon too, according to Reuters.
Netflix stands out as the cleanest comp after coming in as the rival bidder and avoiding any new integration risk. Ross Benes, analyst at Emarketer, called Netflix “the biggest winner” from the Warner Bros. Discovery deal, noting Paramount will have more debt after raising the offer. Reuters
Media Merger Math: Paramount-Warner Combo Would Pile Up $79 Billion Debt The push for mergers is still on the table. Bernstein analyst Laurent Yoon says legacy media names are boxed in as streaming ratchets up the pressure. “They have to get bigger,” he said. Reuters calculates that a tie-up between Paramount and Warner would leave the group with about $79 billion in net debt. Reuters
State action isn’t guaranteed to stop the deal, and lawsuits can fail. Courts don’t always halt mergers, but a judge could stall the closing for months, Reuters said. Fast regulatory OK might bring WBD up near the $31 offer. A state lawsuit, or a bigger case based on labor issues, would probably leave the spread wide and keep pressure on the stock.
