If the Paramount-WBD Deal Collapses, HBO Goes Back on the Market — and Here's Who Buys It

In antitrust cases, the preliminary injunction is often the whole ballgame — if it is granted, the deal tends to fall apart before it reaches trial. Paramount owes a $7 billion regulatory termination fee if antitrust kills the transaction. For WBD, still weighed down by AT&T spin-off debt, that cash changes what the company looks like to the next potential acquirer. Netflix already walked away once, collecting $2.8 billion. Apple has $162 billion in cash and has circled the entertainment business for a decade without a major studio acquisition. Amazon already owns MGM. The most interesting outcome of a deal collapse is WBD using the $7 billion to restructure — selling off declining cable networks, retaining HBO and the studio, and operating as a smaller, more focused entity considerably more attractive to a range of potential partners than its current all-in-one structure. Related: How Netflix Walked Away With $2.8 Billion