Judge clears Paramount's $110B Warner Bros. acquisition to close Oct. 6; Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz named co-CEO
What happened
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín entered a consent decree Wednesday (Sep 30) approving the Sept. 21 settlement with a California-led group of 12 states, lifting the no-close order that had blocked Paramount Skydance's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The companies said in a late Wednesday statement that the deal is expected to close October 6, subject to customary closing conditions. The judge called the settlement 'a reasonable factual and legal resolution,' rejecting objectors' bid for a tougher decree. In parallel, the companies settled a separate Writers Guild of America antitrust suit for $17.5 million to the guild's health fund plus WGA staffing-level commitments at CBS News for five years.
Why it matters & what’s next are part of Pro, along with the audio summary.
Start your free 14-day trialWho’s affected
- Paramount Skydance (PSKY) — deal overhang removed; closing unlocks the combined scale thesis
- Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) — transaction certainty and implied premium realized
- Mattel (MAT) — loses CEO Ynon Kreiz to the combined company's co-CEO role, triggering a leadership transition