Paramount Faces $7 Million-a-Day Penalty as Merger Trial Waits Until March 2027

Paramount agreed to pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders a ticking fee of roughly $7 million per day from October 1, 2026 until the $111 billion merger closes, per Variety. With a 12-day antitrust trial set to start March 2, 2027, the penalty alone could exceed $1.2 billion. Twelve states and the Writers Guild of America sued to block the deal.