US judge enters order permitting Paramount Skydance (PSKY) to close acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD)

A court order clearing the way to close removes the last meaningful legal overhang in a contested media deal of this kind, and in comparable episodes the residual arb spread has tended to collapse quickly toward zero as completion risk reprices. The distinction worth drawing is between the deal spread trade, which is now effectively concluded, and the combined-entity trade, where the focus shifts to integration, leverage on the acquirer's balance sheet, and any content or regulatory conditions attached to closing. Deals in this sector have historically carried antitrust and shareholder-litigation tails, so the sequence to follow is the formal closing mechanics, any remaining dissenting-holder actions, and the first combined-company guidance on synergies and debt reduction. Prior form in large media combinations has been mixed on post-close equity performance, with leverage and streaming economics the recurring swing factors. Worth watching is how the financing leg settles, since the debt taken on to fund acquisitions of this size tends to drive the acquirer's credit spreads and equity multiple more than the deal headline itself.