- Paramount Skydance has extended the deadline for its Warner Bros. Discovery debt tender and exchange offers to Oct. 6, giving bondholders more time as the companies prepare for the closing of their proposed $110 billion transaction.
Paramount Skydance Corporation (NASDAQ: PSKY) has extended the expiration date for its previously announced tender offers and exchange offers for Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) debt securities to 5 p.m. New York time on Oct. 6, the company announced Monday.
The offers previously had been extended multiple times as Paramount worked toward completing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The latest extension is designed to align the settlement of the debt transactions with the expected closing of the acquisition, according to Paramount Skydance's Sept. 28 announcement.
Paramount said the settlement dates for the debt offers are currently expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2026 and that it anticipates extending the expiration date further if necessary so the settlements occur on or shortly after the merger closes.
As of Sept. 25, approximately 67.33% of the aggregate principal amount of the notes subject to the tender offers had been validly tendered. Approximately 74.88% of the principal amount of notes eligible for the exchange offers had been validly submitted, according to the company.
Those figures are not considered final because Paramount expects the offers to remain open until the transaction's closing timetable becomes clearer.
Paramount Aligns Debt Transactions With Warner Bros. Deal
The latest extension is part of the financing process surrounding Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount agreed earlier this year to pay $31 per share in cash for WBD, valuing the transaction at about $110 billion in enterprise value, according to the companies' merger announcement. The agreement originally contemplated closing by the end of the third quarter, with a daily "ticking fee" applying if the transaction remained outstanding after Sept. 30. Paramount's merger announcement and transaction terms
The proposed acquisition has already received regulatory clearances in the US and numerous international jurisdictions. Paramount said in August that it had satisfied the regulatory conditions required under the merger agreement after receiving approvals covering nearly 70 countries. Paramount's regulatory-clearance announcement
The remaining legal process became more complicated after a coalition of 12 states and the Writers Guild of America challenged the transaction. Paramount later reached settlements that removed a major obstacle to the merger, although the federal court process around the state settlement remained relevant to closing.
Wealthier Today's coverage of the Paramount-Warner Bros. antitrust settlement detailed the conditions attached to the agreement, including additional domestic film production commitments and requirements involving theatrical releases and news operations.
Paramount's Sept. 28 filing makes clear that the acquisition itself has not yet been treated as completed. The company continues to refer to it as the proposed acquisition and says the settlement dates for the debt offers will be coordinated with the closing.
The timing is also relevant for shareholders. Paramount Skydance's planned move from Nasdaq to the NYSE is expected to take effect around Oct. 6, with Nasdaq trading scheduled to end around Oct. 5.
Paramount Plans Additional Debt to Fund the Acquisition
The debt exchanges are part of a much larger financing package being assembled to fund the Warner Bros. Discovery purchase.
On Sept. 24, Paramount announced plans to syndicate a $7.5 billion incremental Term B facility. The company also said it intends to raise approximately $44.4 billion of additional secured debt, alongside previously announced financing and equity proceeds, to help fund the acquisition. Paramount's financing announcement
The Sept. 28 announcement also modifies the description of the new Paramount Skydance notes being offered through the exchange process. Paramount said those terms are being aligned with the corresponding terms expected to apply to a separate series of senior secured second-lien notes that the company plans to offer, subject to market conditions.
The existing WBD securities included in the transactions span multiple maturities. Among them are Discovery Communications notes due in 2028, 2029, 2030, 2037, 2040, 2042, 2043 and 2049, as well as Discovery Global Holdings notes with maturities extending from 2027 through 2052.
Paramount said holders can withdraw valid tenders before the applicable expiration date.
The company did not say that Monday's extension changes the economics of the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition. Instead, the filing primarily updates the timing and certain terms of the debt transactions so they can be settled in connection with the anticipated merger closing.
For investors tracking PSKY stock, WBD stock and the Paramount Warner Bros. merger, the next key dates are therefore centered on the company's financing timetable, the Oct. 6 expiration date and the final steps required before the acquisition can close.
The latest filing provides no new indication that the transaction has closed. It confirms that Paramount continues to coordinate its debt refinancing and exchange process around that expected closing.