Paramount's Skydance (PSKY.US) $10 billion acquisition case faces another delay, approaching the October 1 deadline which may lead to a daily fine of $7 million.

Notice that, California federal judge handling multiple lawsuits related to the proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery company (WBD.US) by Paramount Skydance (PSKY.US) has extended the suspension period of the transaction by two weeks, until August 17th. Judge Alaselii Martinez-Olguin of the US District Court issued the extension order on Thursday. She still plans to hold a hearing on August 3rd to discuss further delay of the transaction until the trial next year aimed at permanently blocking the deal. At that time, the judge will hear two lawsuits: one from a group of state attorneys general led by California, and another from the Writers Guild of America. On Monday, Judge Martinez-Olguin initially suspended the transaction for two weeks and scheduled a hearing for August 3rd. A brief evening hearing is now planned to be held at the federal court in Oakland, California. However, Paramount is pushing for a three-day evidentiary hearing later in August, with multiple witnesses testifying. Paramount has repeatedly stated that if allowed to present evidence showing that the merger will bring much-needed competition to Hollywood and allow it to better compete with tech giants like Netflix and Amazon.com, Inc., the deal will survive legal challenges. The states oppose this request and want the transaction to be suspended as soon as possible until a full trial next April. The judge has not made a final decision but has ordered both parties to attempt to reach a compromise by July 24th. Paramount is racing against time, pushing for things to move forward as quickly as possible. The company has promised that if the deal is not completed by October 1st, they will pay Warner Bros. shareholders approximately $7 million per day. It was this condition that allowed them to defeat Netflix in a fierce bidding war and win control of the historic film studio. However, waiting for the April trial and subsequent ruling could cost the company over $1.5 billion. If the deal fails due to antitrust concerns, either party can walk away from the deal starting in June 2027, with Paramount owing Warner Bros. an additional $7 billion in break-up fees. The states argue that the deal will harm competition in the film distribution and basic cable TV markets; while the Writers Guild believes it will reduce market competition for their services.