Paramount-Skydance Merger Extended Following $16M Trump Settlement

The $8 billion Paramount-Skydance merger received a second 90-day extension, pushing the closing deadline to early October as the FCC continues its review of the required broadcast license transfer. A significant obstacle to the deal was resolved when Paramount agreed to a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over his lawsuit concerning a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, which Trump claimed was deceptively edited. The settlement covers Trump's legal fees and includes a donation to his presidential library but contains no apology or admission of wrongdoing from Paramount or CBS. While the lawsuit was widely regarded as weak and potentially frivolous, Paramount’s leadership sought to avoid prolonged litigation and keep focus on business operations. The FCC, led by chairman Brendan Carr, has taken a more stringent approach to media oversight during the Trump administration, but the settlement is expected to remove a major political hurdle, smoothing the path for merger approval. Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, has expressed eagerness to complete the deal, which has been in the works for over a year.