Paramount agrees to delay $110bn Warner Bros merger

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

The company said in a court filing on Friday, July 24, 2026, saying it has agreed to delay the deal until June 2027.

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 U.S. President Donald Trump.

Rob Bonta, the Attorney General of California, which is leading a coalition of 12 states which last week sued to block the deal, welcomed the agreement.

“We are eager to continue to make our case in court and celebrate another tremendous win in our effort to ensure this unlawful merger never sees the light of day,” Bonta said in a statement issued on Friday.

California, 11 US states sue to block Paramount’s $110bn Warner Bros takeover

The other 11 states joining the suit, all Democratic-led, are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

“Halting this merger while our case proceeds is a critical victory in our efforts to uphold the law and protect the film and television industries,” New York Attorney General Leticia James said in a statement on Friday.

The battle over Warner Bros. began in 2025, when media giants Netflix and Paramount went to war over the famed movie studio and its prized back catalog.

A wary Tinseltown reluctantly lined up behind Netflix as the lesser of two evils, only to watch Paramount keep raising its bid until the streamer walked away in February.