Paramount Settles With Trump, Stock Drops

President Donald Trump and Paramount reached a settlement. (Getty Images)

Paramount Global reached a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over the editing of an interview with Kamala Harris, paving the way for the company to be taken over by Skydance Media.

Skydance agreed to buy Paramount last year, with holders of Class B shares getting $15 a share. The deal, however, requires regulatory approval, and FCC Chair Brendan Carr has said the Harris interview could affect whether the agency gives it the go-ahead. The hope now is that it will.

Paramount’s Class B shares aren’t rising on the news, however. They’re down 0.8% at $13.06 in premarket trading—but the market appears to have sniffed out a deal in recent days. Paramount stock is up 7.8% in the past five days of trading and is now just $1.92 away from the takeover price. It may not get there. The deal is subject to “proration” if elections exceed $4.3 billion.

For investors waiting for the deal to close, settlement may be the best news they could have gotten.

Write to Ben Levisohn at ben.levisohn@barrons.com