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DOJ Backs Bond Requirement in Paramount-Warner Bros. Antitrust Fight

By  |  September 16, 2026
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The US Justice Department is urging a federal judge to require states and a Hollywood writers union challenging Paramount Skydance Corp.’s planned $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. to provide financial security against losses that could result from delaying the transaction.

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    The department submitted a statement of interest Tuesday in federal court in California, arguing that federal antitrust law requires states and private parties seeking a preliminary injunction to post an appropriate bond, according to Bloomberg News reporting published Sept. 15. The government did not endorse the roughly $1.9 billion amount sought by Paramount.

    Paramount has asked the court to require a coalition of 12 states, led by California, and the Writers Guild of America to post a bond of about $1.88 billion while their separate challenges to the acquisition proceed. The cases are scheduled for trial in March, according to Bloomberg News.

    The dispute over the bond has emerged as a potentially significant issue in the broader antitrust battle surrounding one of the largest media transactions in recent years.

    Paramount has said delays beyond Sept. 30 will trigger payments to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders. The company previously calculated its requested bond by considering those payments, commonly known as “ticking fees,” as well as financing expenses associated with a prolonged court fight, according to Bloomberg reporting.

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    By the time the litigation reaches a decision and final briefs are filed in April, Paramount estimates that it could have paid about $1.3 billion in nonrecoverable fees to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders, according to Reuters. The company faces costs of roughly $7 million for each day the transaction remains unfinished after the September deadline.

    Related: Paramount, State AGs Set October Settlement Talks in Antitrust Fight

    The Justice Department’s filing focused on the legal requirements surrounding such financial guarantees rather than the underlying merits of the states’ antitrust claims. The department said it was not taking a position on whether an earlier agreement preventing the companies from closing the transaction amounts to a preliminary injunction or whether Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery waived their right to seek a bond — issues the parties dispute, according to the government’s filing.

    The 12-state coalition is seeking to stop the takeover on antitrust grounds. The states contend that combining the media companies would diminish competition in film and television and could give the enlarged company greater ability to raise prices. The Writers Guild of America has filed its own challenge to the transaction.

    Paramount has argued that the plaintiffs should bear the financial consequences of delaying the deal if their legal challenges ultimately fail. A federal judge previously declined to impose a bond in July, concluding that the states were pursuing litigation to protect significant public interests, according to Bloomberg reporting.

    The Justice Department has already cleared the acquisition at the federal level, while Paramount had obtained regulatory approval in 68 jurisdictions worldwide as of August, according to Bloomberg. The lawsuits brought by the states and the Writers Guild have nevertheless prevented the companies from completing the transaction on their original timetable.

    Source: Bloomberg News