Just a few days ago, Paramount requested 12 states and the Writers Guild of America post a $1.88 billion bond in their antitrust lawsuits. The lawsuits have halted a $110.8 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount. A federal law protects mergers and acquisition parties from “potential harm” from halting the deal for litigation.

Paramount is trying to get the states and Writers Guild of America to pay for the timer portion of their proposed deal that would increase the cost by about $7 million per day if it doesn’t close before September 30. As of now, that doesn’t look like it’ll happen. Paramount agreed to halt the deal until their lawsuit with a dozen attorneys general is over or June 1, 2027. A trial is set for March 2, 2027 and believed to last 17 days. The delay through the trial, about 169 days, will cost the company about $1.15 billion.

But, a court decision about that bond will cut it close to when that ticking fee begins in the Paramount/WBD deal. Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin has decided that nothing will be decided in Paramount’s move until September 24. That’s just a week before the the fee would begin and the costs begin to increase.