Overview
- Paramount filed reply briefs on Tuesday reiterating its demand that 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America post a $1.88 billion bond to secure losses from a delayed closing.
- Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin has set a hearing on the bond request for September 24 and scheduled the merits trial to begin March 2, 2027.
- Under the merger contract Paramount would owe about $7 million per day in a ticking fee starting October 1, which the company says is the principal, quantifiable harm from the pause.
- The states and the WGA oppose the bond, arguing the ticking fee was a self-imposed contractual term and that courts often waive or set nominal bonds when public officials or unions bring suit.
- Regulators in roughly 69 jurisdictions have cleared the deal so the litigation over the bond and the September hearing are now the main levers that could push the parties toward settlement, raise financing costs, or extend the delay through next spring.