Paramount Skydance is reportedly aiming to finalize its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery as soon as July.
Paramount, home to CBS, Paramount Pictures and Paramount+, is internally eyeing July 15 as its target date to finalize the deal, the Status newsletter reported late Tuesday.
In public statements, David Ellison-led Paramount has said it expects the $110 billion deal to close by the third quarter, or Sept. 30.
Shareholders have already approved the merger between Paramount and WBD, which owns CNN, Warner Bros Pictures and HBO, though it remains subject to regulatory approval.
UK regulators are getting ready to begin their review of the deal, with their deadline for public comments closing last month.
Paramount has also asked the Federal Communications Commission to approve foreign investment in the deal. Investors outside the US will account for 49.5% of the equity of the combined company.
Another potential hurdle could come at the state level, with California Attorney General Rob Bonta launching a probe of the deal in March.
“There are red flags everywhere for us,” the Dem said earlier this month. “We’re looking at things like higher prices, lower wages, fewer jobs, less quality, less choice, less competition — the things that you look at when you’re looking at an antitrust case and a proposed merger.”
Paramount’s chief legal officer Makan Delrahim has argued that the mega-deal will bring “new competitive” energy to the entertainment business.
In the event that the merger does not close by Sept. 30, WBD shareholders will receive a 25 cent-per-share “ticking fee” for each quarter until closing.
On the chance the deal falls through all due to regulatory woes, Paramount will pay WBD a $7 billion termination fee.
