Paramount Starts Syndication for Proposed $7.5 Billion Loan

Paramount Skydance has launched syndication of a proposed $7.5 billion senior secured loan to help finance its planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and repay certain existing debt, the company said Thursday. The process seeks lenders for the loan but does not establish that the full amount has been committed or funded. Paramount also said it intends to raise about $44.4 billion in additional secured debt, alongside previously announced financing. It said proceeds from the borrowings, cash on hand and previously announced equity financing would go toward the purchase price and repayment of certain debt. The additional borrowing plan is subject to market and other conditions. The financing push comes as the merger remains contingent on legal proceedings. Paramount reached a proposed settlement with 12 state attorneys general over their antitrust lawsuit, but the agreement requires court approval. A report on Thursday said U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín allowed opponents of the merger to intervene and postponed a hearing on the proposed consent decree. The supplied information does not establish whether the court has since approved the settlement.