Back on June 29, we told you what our insiders said about all the noise surrounding the Paramount Skydance takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, the opposition campaigns, the delay talk, the supposed efforts to block the deal: it’s “all performative.”
Now Wall Street has weighed in, and the smart money agrees.
Investors Are Fighting Over $49 Billion In Merger Debt — Before The Deal Even Launched
Bloomberg reports that banks have already lined up enough investor demand to cover most of the roughly $49 billion debt package funding Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery before the debt sale has even formally launched.
For those who don’t follow the bond market (and who could blame you), here’s why that matters.
What The Bond Market Is Really Telling You
When a mega-merger gets announced, banks put up the money, then sell that debt off to big investors.
Normally, that takes weeks after a deal launches, and if investors are nervous about lawsuits, regulators, or anything else, it shows up immediately in weak demand.
That is not what’s happening here. Per Bloomberg, investors are lining up to buy before the $49 billion sale has even opened.
Bond investors are the most cynical people on the planet. They don’t care about press releases, fan campaigns, or billionaire posturing. They care about one thing: getting paid back.
Wall Street just did the math on all the “drama” and assigned it a value of zero.
Even The EU “Hurdle” Turned Out To Be Nothing
Remember all the talk about Europe being the deal’s last real obstacle? That’s over too.
Per Variety, Paramount will exit its United International Pictures distribution joint venture with Universal as a condition for EU approval and the European Commission is now set to sign off.
Every “threat” to this deal keeps ending the same way: quietly, with a shrug.
Exactly What Our Insiders Told Us
This lines up with everything we’ve been reporting.
The DOJ approved the deal. The opposition funding went nowhere.
Our insiders have pointed to David Ellison and Mike De Luca as the team expected to shape the combined company — including saving Star Trek — and James Gunn’s DC exit remains tied to the close.
We’ve also been told Zack Snyder is set to return to DC, and Zack Snyder just so happens to be moderating the Frank Miller tour in Los Angeles on July 18.
Paramount has been targeting July 15, and with the money already lined up, nothing on Wall Street’s end is standing in the way.
The theatrics were always for show. The people writing $49 billion in checks knew it. Our insiders knew it. Now you know it too.
One more number worth keeping in your back pocket: once the deal closes, the combined company is expected to carry around $79 billion in net debt. That’s the figure that will drive every cost-cutting decision from the new regime, including at DC Studios and HBO Max. More on that soon.
