The long-awaited closing of Skydance Media’s $8 billion purchase of Paramount Global will have to wait at least another 90 days, with a delayed regulatory sign-off by an activist FCC automatically pushing the finish line back to July 6.
Agreed to last summer, the deal has already been approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and The European Commission. And all internal matters have been settled. However, an early-February SEC filing stipulates that if not all regulatory ducks are in a row by April 7, the closing deadline automatically gets pushed back 90 days.
Another 90-day kicker would be triggered if matters can’t be settled by July 6. If the calendar passes October 6 and the deal still hasn’t closed, both parties will have an opportunity to terminate it. Paramount, however, would be on the hook for a $400 million breakup fee.
At the outset of the regulatory approval process, it didn’t appear that the purchase of the financially challenged old-Hollywood studio by David Ellison’s Skydance would be too complicated. Paramount leaders told investors that “early 2025” was when the agreement would likely consummate.
But nothing is proving easy to forecast amid the return of President Donald Trump and his handpicked FCC Chairman, Brendan Carr.
Trump has sued Paramount for $20 billion over an October segment of the CBS news program 60 Minutes, claiming an interview with then Democratic opponent Kamala Harris was edited in a deceptive way. The suit isn’t regarded in legal circles as having much merit. But Paramount chief Shari Redstone reportedly wants the matter resolved quickly and has agreed to mediation.
Separately but related, a far-right group The Center for American Rights has filed a “news distortion” complaint about the 60 Minutes segment to the FCC. Carr said that complaint will “likely arise” in his review of the Skydance-Paramount deal.
While its parent company awaits resolution, Paramount+ is quietly thriving subscriber-wise. According to research company Antenna, for the six-month period ending February 25, the subscription streaming unit signed up more than 19.1 million customers, far more than any competing premium SVOD in the U.S.