Paramount and Warner Bros. expect a delay in closing the deal

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNN Business

Updated Jul 15, 2026, 1:03 PM ET
PUBLISHED Jul 15, 2026, 1:01 PM ET


Executives involved in the pending Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery deal expect that a judge will hit pause on the takeover plan in the coming days.

Officially, it’s anyone’s guess what the court will do in response to a request by 12 state attorneys general for a temporary restraining order (TRO). Unofficially, people close to the matter anticipate that the TRO will be granted, putting the mega-merger in a two- or three-week timeout.

Those people, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the state of play, remain bullish that Paramount will prevail in the end. “The deal will get done one way or another,” one of the executives said. But the earlier prospect that Paramount might take control of Warner next week has been all but extinguished by the state attorneys general’s action.

The states filed a lawsuit on Monday charging that the merger would violate antitrust law and must be stopped. The suit created additional uncertainty about the future ownership of CNN and other assets owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/15/media/paramount-wbd-merger-lawsuit-tro-bonta