Paramount Secures Financing as It Advances Warner Bros. Discovery Merger
Paramount completed the syndication of a bridge facility and arranged permanent financing with 18 lenders to back its planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, trimming bridge commitments from $54 billion to $49 billion and eliminating the $3.5 billion revolving facility while boosting liquidity to $5 billion via a new senior unsecured revolving line. The bridge debt has been syndicated to a larger group of banks to reduce exposure to the three main lenders. The company also secured roughly $24 billion in equity from Middle East investors, including Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, and expects the merger to close in Q3, with WBD shareholders receiving $31 per share in cash upon closing, subject to regulatory approval and a shareholder vote.