merger

On October 6, 2025, TruWealth Advisors, LLC disclosed in an SEC filing that it sold all 450,162 shares of Synovus Financial (SNV 0.77%), an estimated $23.30 million trade based on quarterly average pricing.

What happened

TruWealth Advisors, LLC reported a complete sale of its Synovus Financial holdings in its quarterly Form 13F, published October 6, 2025 (SEC filing). The fund sold 450,162 shares, with the transaction value estimated at $23.30 million. The position, previously 1.3% of fund AUM, was fully liquidated, and no shares remain as of the filing.

What else to know

The fund sold out of Synovus Financial.

Top holdings after the filing:

• NYSEMKT:FBND: $124.17 million (6.3% of AUM)
• NYSEMKT:VTI: $110.40 million (5.6% of AUM)
• NYSEMKT:PYLD: $103.49 million (5.2% of AUM)
• NYSEMKT:JAAA: $103.49 million (5.2% of AUM)
• NASDAQ:BSCS: $90.20 million (4.6% of AUM)

As of Oct. 3, 2025, Synovus Financial shares were priced at $47.83, marking a 10.7% one-year gain and underperforming the S&P 500 by 7.8 percentage points.

Company overview

Company snapshot

Synovous Financial:

• Offers commercial and retail banking products, including treasury management, asset management, loans, deposit accounts, and investment services.
• Operates as a regional bank holding company based in Columbus, Georgia.
• Served individuals, small businesses, and corporate clients across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
• Leverages a diversified portfolio of banking and financial management services to address the needs of both retail and commercial clients in the southeastern United States.

Foolish take

While it may seem alarming to Synovus Financial shareholders to see TruWealth liquidating its position in the stock, the sale may not be an indictment of the bank’s operations.

Rather, Synovus plans to merge with Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ: PNFP) in a deal that should close in the first quarter of 2026.

The all-stock deal will have an exchange rate of .5237, implying a transaction value of $48.44 per Synovus share, based on Pinnacle’s current share price of around $92.

With Synovus already trading very close to this figure, TruWealth may not have seen enough upside in holding until next year. Or it simply may not have liked the look of the combined company.

For the bank itself, the new-look Pinnacle Financial Partners will not only become the fourth-largest regional bank in the Southeast, but also offer the best ten-year earnings growth rates among its peers in the area.

With the combined company set to have the best employee satisfaction, the highest customer net promoter score, and top-tier efficiency ratios compared to its peers, the new stock should be on banking-savvy investors’ radars.

Glossary

13F reportable assets: Securities holdings that institutional investment managers must disclose quarterly to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Form 13F.

AUM (Assets under management): The total market value of assets a fund or investment manager oversees on behalf of clients.

Fund liquidation: The process of selling all holdings in a particular investment, resulting in a zero balance for that position.

Dividend yield: Annual dividend income expressed as a percentage of the investment’s current price.

Regional bank holding company: A company that owns and controls banks operating primarily within a specific geographic region.

Treasury management: Banking services that help businesses manage cash flow, payments, and financial risk.

TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

Form 13F: A quarterly report filed by institutional investment managers to disclose their equity holdings to the SEC.

Stake: The amount or percentage of ownership an investor or fund holds in a particular company.

Asset management: Professional management of investments such as stocks, bonds, and other assets for clients.

CBS News’ “Face the Nation” will no longer edit taped interviews after U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem complained about how her remarks were cut in her last appearance on the Washington-based program.

The news division said Friday that the Sunday show moderated by Margaret Brennan will only present interviews live or “live to tape” in which no edits are made. Exceptions will be made when classified national security information is inadvertently stated or language is used that violates Federal Communications Commission broadcast standards.

“In response to audience feedback over the past week, we have implemented a new policy for greater transparency in our interviews,” a CBS News representative said in a statement. “This extra measure means the television audience will see the full, unedited interview on CBS and we will continue our practice of posting full transcripts and the unedited video online.”

The representative declined to comment on the reason for the policy beyond the statement.

But the timing makes it clear that CBS News is reacting to Noem’s complaints following her Sunday appearance in which she discussed the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man wrongly deported to his native El Salvador. He was returned to the U.S., where he faces deportation efforts.

Noem wrote on X that “CBS shamefully edited the interview to whitewash the truth about this MS-13 gang member and the threat he poses to American public safety.”

The comments cut from the “Face the Nation” appearance were potentially defamatory. Noem said that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13 and that he solicited nude photos from minors.

“Even his fellow human traffickers told him to knock it off, he was so sick in what he was doing and how he was treating small children,” Noem said in the unedited version of the interview she posted on X.

The government has accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13, which he has denied. A court has described the evidence of his connection as “insufficient.”

“Face the Nation,” which has been on the air since 1954, became the focal point in a legal battle between CBS News and President Trump last year. Trump sued CBS News for $20 billion, claiming the program deceptively edited a “60 Minutes” interview with his 2024 opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Face the Nation” ran a clip from the interview that differed from what appeared in the “60 Minutes” broadcast, which led Trump to claim that it was changed to aid Harris and damage his election chances.

Editing interviews for clarity and time restrictions of a broadcast is a common practice in TV news. While 1st Amendment experts said CBS News had done nothing wrong, parent company Paramount settled the case for $16 million to help clear the regulatory hurdles for its merger with Skydance Media. The merger was completed Aug. 7.

The policy change regarding live interviews will likely be seen as another capitulation to Trump administration, who has shown a willingness to use legal measures to punish or attempt to silence his critics in the media. It will also pose a challenge to “Face the Nation” producers who already operate in an environment where real-time fact checking can’t always keep up with the misinformation presented by guests on the program.

CBS News is expecting additional changes as Skydance is in serious talks to acquire the Free Press, the right-leaning web-based media company founded by former New York Times opinion writer Bari Weiss.

The deal is said to be nearing completion, according to people familiar with the discussions, and would include a prominent role for Weiss at CBS News, even though she has no experience in running a TV news organization.

Aug. 28 (UPI) — Robert Primus, member of the Surface Transportation Board, was fired by the White House Thursday, though he contends that the move is illegal.

The Surface Transportation Board is an independent regulatory agency that has been considering the merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroad companies.

“Robert Primus did not align with the president’s America First agenda and was terminated from his position by the White House,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement. “The Administration intends to nominate new, more qualified members to the Surface Transportation Board in short order.”

In a statement on LinkedIn, Primus said the email he got telling him he was fired was “deeply troubling and legally invalid.”

“Ironically, this comes at a time when the Board is considering significant, pressing matters of critical importance to both our national freight rail network and supply chain that would directly affect large swaths of our manufacturing, agricultural, industrial and energy sectors,” he wrote.

He noted that he was hired by President Donald Trump in his first term, was kept on during the President Joe Biden administration, and was unanimously confirmed by the House and Senate.

“I have worked tirelessly to build bipartisan trust and have demonstrated myself to be truly an independent Board member that has consistently rendered fair and impartial decisions,” he said. “My record during my four and a half years at the Board reflects this, and I strongly believe the actions of the White House would weaken the Board and adversely affect the freight rail network in a way that may ultimately hurt consumers and the economy.”

He ended his statement saying he doesn’t plan to step down.

“I plan to continue to discharge my duties as a member of the Board and, if I’m prevented from doing so, I will explore my legal options,: he said.

The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers — Transportation Division said it strongly condemns the “unprecedented and unjustified” removal of Primus.

“Appointed bodies established through federal code are not designed to be erased at the whim of powerful corporate interests. This action is unprecedented, unlawful in spirit, and reeks of direct interference from hedge funds and the nation’s largest rail carriers,” SMART-TD, the largest rail labor organization in the United States, said in a statement.

“It sends a chilling message: that regulators who dare to stand up for fairness and balance in the rail industry can be swept aside to serve Wall Street’s agenda,” SMART-TD said.

The Surface Transportation Board started the review of the merger in July after Union Pacific announced it would buy Norfolk Southern for $85 million. The merger faces criticism from labor unions and those who believe it would hurt competition in the rail industry.

Aug. 8 (UPI) — Skydance Media and Paramount Global have completed their merger, creating a new media conglomerate and ending months of turmoil over the deal that has drawn allegations of corruption directed at the Trump administration.

The new company — Paramount, a Skydance Corporation — began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticket symbol PSKY on Thursday, the day the merger completed.

“Today marks an exciting and pivotal moment as we prepare to bring Paramount’s legacy as a Hollywood institution into the future of entertainment,” David Ellison, CEO and chairman of Paramount, a Skydance Corporation, said in a statement.

“It is truly an honor and a privilege to help lead this iconic brand into its next chapter.”

Skydance announced the deal in July of last year, but the merger was hung up as President Donald Trump sparred with CBS News, a Paramount Global subsidiary.

Trump sued CBS News during his re-election campaign for $10 billion over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with his political opponent, Democrat Kamala Harris. He later upped the damages to $20 billion after winning re-election.

Despite many saying it was litigation that was “meritless” and that Trump wouldn’t win, Paramount Global reached a $16 million settlement with Trump last month. The president then said Skydance has pledged $20 million more in advertising, PSAs and other programming, for a total of $36 million.

The deal attracted allegations from Democrats and critics that it was a bribe and an attack on free speech.

After the settlement was reached, the FCC voted 2-1 in favor of the merger, with the commissioners stating that Skydance has made several assurances to the Trump administration over content and that it will not establish any diversity, equity and inclusion policies — an ideology that seeks to create inclusion environments that the far-right president has been seeking to remove from both public and private sectors on the grounds of alleged discrimination.

Commissioner Anna Gomez, who assumed office under the Biden administration, lambasted the merger in a warning that it will not be the last time Trump threatens the First Amendment.

In a statement Thursday, she said the completion of the Skydance-Paramount merger marks the final chapter “of a dark moment in our nation’s history.”

She said the new company is “born in shame” for trading away First Amendment principles for profit, while agreeing to “never-before-seen forms of government control over newsroom decisions and editorial judgement.”

A so-called government-approved “truth arbiter” will be at CBS, with the role of ensuring journalists “do not criticize this administration or express views that conflict with its agenda,” she said.

“Sadly, this will not be the end of this administration’s campaign of intervention in media to silence critics, gain favorable coverage and impose ideological conformity on newsrooms that should remain independent,” she said.

“With longstanding institutions like CBS compromised in this way, it will be up to us — as citizens — to hold this administration accountable for its abuses.”

The announcement also comes as Trump has targeted public broadcasting.

In May, he signed an executive order to halt funding to PBS and NPR, while calling the public news broadcasters “biased.”

Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday unveiled the names of the proposed separate entities, post-breakup: Warner Bros. and Discovery Global.

When the corporate spin-off is complete some time next year, the venerable Burbank film and television studio properties, HBO, HBO Max streaming service and gaming properties will be part of a slimmed-down iteration called Warner Bros.

The cable networks, including TNT, CNN, HGTV and Animal Planet, and sports app Bleacher Report, will make up Discovery Global.

“We will proudly continue the more than century-long legacy of Warner Bros. through our commitment to bringing culture-defining stories, characters and entertainment to audiences around the world,” Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav said in a statement.

Zaslav, the longtime Discovery executive, is jumping to the Warner Bros. side, while his lieutenant, Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels, will lead Discovery Global.

The proposed corporate split is a recognition that the merger that created Warner Bros. Discovery three years ago was a misfire that eroded the value of some of the industry’s most premium brands. Zaslav championed the merger as a way to roll up several companies into one.

At the time, WarnerMedia — with its studios, HBO and Turner networks — was owned by AT&T, which was desperate to exit Hollywood after losing billions of dollars on acquisitions.

But Wall Street quickly soured on the consolidation that married nearly two dozen basic cable channels, including HGTV and Food Network, with the prestige properties of HBO and the Warner Bros. studios in Burbank.

AT&T’s sale to Discovery left Zaslav’s company struggling to tame more than $40 billion in debt. Investors also have a dim view of cable channels as the shift to streaming prompted a huge migration of viewers.

Senior executives joining Zaslav at Warner Bros. include: HBO Chairman Casey Bloys; Warner Bros. TV Group Chairman Channing Dungey; the film co-chairs Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca; DC Studios leaders James Gunn and Peter Safran, Streaming and Gaming Chief Executive JB Perrette; Chief Operating Officer Bruce Campbell and Chief Communications Officer Robert Gibbs.

Discovery Global will include CNN Chairman Mark Thompson; TNT Sports Chairman Luis Silberwasser; international operations head Gerhard Zeiler; U.S. Ad Sales President Ryan Gould; and Chief Development Officer Anil Jhingan.

“As we prepare for the launch of Discovery Global, our enthusiasm for the opportunities ahead only grows thanks to our leading portfolio of beloved brands and programming, our worldwide footprint for adults, kids, and families, and now the experienced and talented leadership team,” Wiedenfels said.

Warner Bros. has started a search for a CFO as well as a chief people officer. Wiedenfels plans to hire a top communications and public affairs officer.

The entertainment company Paramount Global is expected to close its $8bn merger agreement with Skydance Media on August 7, a date that marks two weeks after the administration of President Donald Trump gave its approval.

On Friday, the two companies announced the final stage of the yearlong deal, which was first unveiled in July 2024.

The merger is considered a massive shake-up in the media landscape of the United States, drawing to a close the reign of the powerful Redstone family over the Paramount entertainment empire.

But the merger has garnered even more attention in recent weeks for its political backdrop.

On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gave the green light for the merger to go forward, after a series of moves under Paramount that were widely interpreted as concessions to the Trump administration.

The FCC is technically an independent agency of the federal government, but since taking office in January for his second term, President Trump has sought to bring such agencies under his influence, including by appointing loyal allies to their leadership.

That put the fate of the Paramount-Skydance merger in question, particularly given Trump’s combative relationship with CBS Broadcasting Inc, one of Paramount’s premier properties.

Conflicts over content

Trump has long taken an adversarial approach to the news media, and CBS’s flagship news programmes were no exception.

Some of those tensions came to a head in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election, when Trump, a Republican, was facing off against Democratic contender Kamala Harris.

The TV news magazine 60 Minutes had a tradition of interviewing each of the major party nominees for the presidency in the lead-up to the vote, and it had invited both Trump and Harris to participate.

Harris accepted the invitation, but 60 Minutes said Trump cancelled his scheduled interview. Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, disputed that characterisation.

“There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in,” Cheung wrote on social media. “They also insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented.”

The back-and-forth escalated when 60 Minutes aired two different cuts from its interview with Harris.

One version, which aired on a sister programme, Face The Nation, featured more of Harris’s answer about her stance towards Israel. The other version, which aired on the 60 Minutes broadcast, was shorter.

Trump called the different edits evidence of deceptive reporting tactics and filed a lawsuit against Paramount, CBS’s parent company.

“CBS used its national platform on 60 Minutes to cross the line from the exercise of judgment in reporting to deceitful, deceptive manipulation of news,” his court filing alleged.

“That is false,” 60 Minutes responded in a statement on its website.

“When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point. The portion of her answer on 60 Minutes was more succinct, which allows time for other subjects in a wide ranging 21-minute-long segment.”

While many media experts expected Paramount to prevail on the merits of the case, the company instead sought to negotiate an end to the matter. Earlier this month, it agreed to pay $16m to Trump to go towards his future presidential library.

Shortly thereafter, another top CBS show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, revealed it had been cancelled, allegedly for financial reasons.

But the timing and unexpected nature of the cancellation drew speculation that it might have been an attempt to appease Trump and streamline the merger, given the fact that Colbert frequently lambasted the Republican president on his show.

Trump himself posted on Truth Social, “I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.”

The Late Show was consistently the top-rated late-night comedy show, and it had won a Peabody Award and multiple Emmy nods.

Days later, on July 22, Trump called for more comedians to be ousted, writing, “It’s really good to see them go, and I hope I played a major part in it!”

That same day, he confirmed he received the $16m for his 60 Minutes settlement, adding that he expected to be receive an additional $20m in free advertising and programming from the “new owners”.

South Park TV show takes aim

Within weeks of both the 60 Minutes lawsuit settlement and the cancellation of The Late Show, the FCC gave its blessing to the merger between Paramount and Skydance.

Under the merger, Skydance founder David Ellison, the son of Oracle Corporation CEO Larry Ellison, is slated to helm operations.

Upon the merger’s approval, Trump’s appointee to lead the FCC, Brendan Carr, released a statement echoing some of the president’s criticisms of major news outlets.

He also hinted that the merger would result in changes to CBS’s news output.

“Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly,” he wrote. “It is time for a change. That is why I welcome Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcasting network.”

“In particular, Skydance has made written commitments to ensure that the new company’s programming embodies a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum.”

To ensure compliance with that commitment, Carr said an ombudsman would be appointed to the media giant for a period of at least two years.

Carr added that the merger between Skydance and Paramount would also bar the new mega-company from implementing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, which are designed to create an equal playing field for people regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion or ability.

But the merger did not put an end to the scrutiny of Trump on Paramount platforms.

Hours after the FCC granted its approval, the TV channel Comedy Central aired an episode of the animated series South Park that mocked President Trump and satirised its parent company’s $16m settlement.

In one scene, an animated Jesus attempts to warn the show’s characters about Trump.

“The guy can do whatever he wants now that someone backed down, OK?” the animated Jesus says. “You guys saw what happened to CBS? Yeah, well, guess who owns CBS? Paramount! You really want to end up like Colbert?”

The Trump administration has since blasted the show as irrelevant.

July 24 (UPI) — The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday announced its approval of Skydance’s $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global, ending months of uncertainty surrounding the deal but inflaming allegations of corruption directed at the Trump administration.

The FCC voted 2-1 in favor of Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount and all of its subsidiaries, including Paramount Pictures, CBS television, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.

Among the commitments Skydance made to the Trump administration was ensuring it will include news and entertainment programming that “will embody a diversity of viewpoints across the political and ideological spectrum” and that CBS News’ reporting “will be fair, unbiased and fact-based,” according to the FCC.

Skydance has also pledged that it will not establish any diversity, equity and inclusion policies — ideology that seeks to create inclusive environments that the Trump administration has been seeking to remove from both public and private sectors on allegations of discrimination.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr described the merger as a change that will instill public trust in media.

“It is time for a change,” he said in a statement.

“That is why I welcome Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network.”

Though the FCC said Skydance does not have any DEI programs, Carr said the agreement “marks another step forward in the FCC’s efforts to eliminate invidious forms of DEI discrimination.”

Skydance announced the deal in July of last year, but the merger has stalled amid frictions with the Trump administration, as President Donald Trump has sparred with CBS News.

Trump sued CBS News while campaigning for re-election in October for $10 billion in a lawsuit many saw as one he wouldn’t win over editing of a 60 Minutes interview with his political opponent, Democrat Kamala Harris. He then upped the amount in damages to $20 billion after winning re-election.

Earlier this month, Paramount Global reached a $16 million settlement with Trump that Democrats and critics of the Trump administration are calling a bribe and an affront to free speech — accusations that only intensified after Trump earlier this week said Skydance has pledged $20 million more in advertising, PSAs and “other Similar Programming, for a total $36 MillIon Dollars.”

Paramount Global told UPI that the $16 million, minus fees and costs, will be allocated to Trump’s future presidential library.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the only Democrat of the three commissioners and the only one not appointed by Trump, dissented to the merger, and described Paramount’s settlement as “cowardly capitulation” and accused the FCC of losing its independence.

In her strongly worded dissent, Gomez warned that this merger will not be the last time the Trump administration threatens the First Amendment.

“The Paramount payout and this reckless approval have emboldened those who believe the government can — and should — abuse its power to extract financial and ideological concessions, demand favored treatment and secure positive media coverage,” she said.

“It is a dark chapter in a long and growing record of abuse that threatens press freedom in this country.”

Democrats were quick to lament their concerns online.

“Trump filed a sham lawsuit against CBS, but instead of fighting it CBS’ parent company, Paramount, paid Trump $16 million to his future library. So, you got to ask, why did Paramount do that if the suit was quote ‘meritless’?” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in a video statement published online. “Well, maybe because they needed Trump to approve their multibillion-dollar merger, which Trump just did.

The appearance of this wink-wink deal basically let’s every other company and every other billionaire know that Trump is open for business, apparently happy to accept offers in exchange for favors.”

Warren has called for a full investigation into the deal.

Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass, and Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., described Thursday as “a dark day for independent journalism” and called the approval of the merger “a stain on the storied history of the Federal Communications Commission.

“The FCC’s approval of the Paramount-Skydance merger reeks of the worst form of corruption. The timing speaks for itself: Paramount settled with Trump for $36 million on Tuesday and the FCC approved the merger on Wednesday,” they said in a joint statement.

“The stench of this transaction will linger over the commission for years.”

David Ellison stepped within reach of his hard-fought prize, Paramount Global, after winning regulators’ blessing for his Skydance Media’s $8-billion takeover of the storied media company.

President Trump-appointed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr approved the Skydance-Paramount merger Thursday after months of turmoil and a monumental collision between the president’s broad powers and press freedoms.

Carr’s consent came just three weeks after Paramount agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle the president’s lawsuit over edits to a “60 Minutes” broadcast. Trump had claimed CBS producers doctored the October interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris to boost her election chances. CBS denied his allegations, saying the edits were routine.

1st Amendment experts called Trump’s suit “frivolous.” But, after months of internal upheaval, Paramount capitulated. The move was widely seen as a prerequisite for Skydance to win FCC approval and push the Paramount-Skydance merger over the finish line.

Trump has said on social media that, as part of the settlement, he also expects the new owners to provide another $20 million in public service announcements and other free programming.

The FCC approval clears the final regulatory hurdle for the acquisition that will bring another technology titan to Hollywood. Carr authorized the transfer of Paramount’s CBS television station licenses to Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder who ranks among the world’s richest men, and his family.

“Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change,” Carr said in a statement. “That is why I welcome Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network.”

The FCC commissioners voted 2-1 in favor of the deal. Two Republicans, Carr and Olivia Trusty, voted yes, while Anna Gomez, the lone Democrat on the panel, dissented.

“After months of cowardly capitulation to this Administration, Paramount finally got what it wanted,” Gomez said in a statement. “Unfortunately, it is the American public who will ultimately pay the price for its actions.”

The Ellisons’ takeover of Paramount is expected to be complete in the coming days.

Santa Monica-based Skydance, which is owned by the Ellison family and private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners, faces an uphill slog to restore Paramount to its former glory. Years of programming under-investments, management missteps and ownership turmoil have taken a heavy toll.

Viewers’ shift to streaming has upended Paramount’s TV networks, CBS, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV and BET. Paramount Pictures lags behind Disney, Universal and Warner Bros.

Sumner Redstone’s family will exit the Hollywood stage, after nearly 40 years. The pugnacious mogul from Boston, who died five years ago, presided during an era of entertainment excesses in the 80s, 90s and early aughts — when Paramount released beloved blockbusters and cable television was in its hey-day.

For a stretch this spring, it seemed the Skydance deal could unravel.

The FCC’s review had stalled amid the legal wrangling over Trump’s lawsuit. Carr, in one of his first moves as chairman, separately opened an FCC inquiry into alleged news distortion with the “60 Minutes” Harris interview — putting CBS uncomfortably under the microscope.

Paramount’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone (Sumner’s daughter), and some Skydance executives, urged Paramount to settle. But CBS News executives refused to apologize to Trump for the “60 Minutes” edits, saying CBS journalists did nothing wrong. The settlement, which steers money to Trump’s future presidential library, did not include an apology from CBS News or Paramount.

Two high-level CBS News executives departed and three progressive U.S. senators demanded answers. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and the others lambasted the settlement talks, saying that paying Trump money to end a “bogus” lawsuit simply to get a merger approved could be akin to paying a bribe.

The winds shifted in June. David Ellison, Larry’s 42-year-old son, talked briefly with Trump at a UFC fight in New Jersey. Days later, Trump talked favorably about his friendship with Larry Ellison and the Paramount-Skydance deal.

“Ellison’s great,” Trump told reporters in mid-June. “He’ll do a great job with it.”

David Ellison last week met with Carr in Washington to persuade him that Paramount would be in good hands. They discussed the firm’s commitments and management philosophies. Skydance also gave assurances that its Chinese investors would not have a say in the company’s affairs.

Last week, CBS separately said it was canceling “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” in May. The company said the move was financial, but conservatives and progressives alike questioned the timing due to the pending merger and Colbert’s pointed barbs at Trump.

Skydance outlined its planned changes at Paramount in a letter this week to Carr. Skydance promised to cancel all diversity initiatives, disband its Office of Global Inclusion and strip references to DEI from its internal and external messaging. The company also said news and entertainment programming would not tilt in any one political direction.

“New Paramount’s new management will ensure that the company’s array of news and entertainment programming embodies a diversity of viewpoints across the political and ideological spectrum, consistent with the varying perspectives of the viewing audience,” Skydance’s general counsel Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon wrote in Tuesday’s letter to Carr.

The company said it would install an ombudsman at CBS News for at least two years.

“They are committing to serious changes at CBS,” Carr told reporters in Washington earlier Thursday. “I think that would be a good thing. They’ve committed to addressing bias issues. They committed to embracing fact-based journalism.”

Ellison began his pursuit of Paramount two years ago.

He formalized his bid by January 2024. After months of negotiations, Paramount’s board and Redstone approved the Skydance takeover July 7, 2024.

Paramount’s leaders considered other prospective owners but concluded that Skydance, with its Ellison backing, would bring a solid financial foundation for a company that traces its roots back more than a century. Redstone also wanted Paramount to remain whole, rather than broken into pieces.

As part of the agreement, Skydance will be folded into the public company. Its backers will inject new capital to bolster Paramount’s finances and install a new cadre of leaders. Ellison will serve as chairman and chief executive. Former NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Shell is slated to be president.

CBS’ current leader George Cheeks, one of Paramount’s three co-chief executives, could join the new regime. But the two other current chiefs, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins, are expected to depart.

The Skydance deal is expected to be executed in two parts. Larry Ellison and RedBird will buyout the Redstone family holding company, National Amusements Inc., for $2.4 billion.

After their debts are paid, the Redstone family will leave with $1.75 billion. The family controls 77% of Paramount’s voting shares, which will be passed to the Ellisons and RedBird.

Under the deal terms, the new Paramount will offer to buy out some shares of existing shareholders and inject $1.5 billion into Paramount’s strained balance sheet.

Paramount will then absorb Skydance, which has a movie, television, animation, video games and a sports unit. The deal values Skydance at $4.75-billion.

“We’re going to reorganize and restructure the business to prioritize cash flow generation,” David Ellison told investors last July. “With a track record in both entertainment and technological expertise [we will] be able to transition the company through this period of time to ensure that Paramount’s brightest days are ahead.”

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is going off air in May 2026, a decision hailed by United States President Stephen Colbert, a frequent target of the comedian.

The announcement by CBS on Thursday that it will cancel the show comes against the backdrop of a looming merger between its parent company Paramount with Skydance Media.

It also comes only days after the comedian called out Paramount for its $16m settlement with Trump. Trump, in a lawsuit, had alleged that 60 Minutes, the flagship news magazine at CBS, doctored an interview during the 2024 presidential campaign with his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris.

Colbert, a longtime critic of the president, called the network’s decision to settle “a big fat bribe” because of the pending merger, which needs approval from the Department of Justice and is valued at $8bn.

“I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired,” the president wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

“His talent was even less than his ratings,” he added, before going after Colbert’s other two rivals, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon, saying that they are next, without evidence.

Contrary to the president’s claims, Colbert is performing well — his is the highest rated show in late night television — averaging 2.42 million viewers in the second quarter of 2025.

The cancellation also ended the tenure of the long-running late-night franchise, replacing the Pat Sajak show in 1993, and was first hosted by David Letterman.

Financial pressures

“This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,” CBS said in a statement provided to Al Jazeera.

CBS previously cancelled another late-night show, After Midnight, hosted by comedian Taylor Tomlinson, after a two-year run.

Experts believe there is merit to that argument.

“The reality is the business of late night is not going anywhere that justifies the enormous salaries that this talent is paid and the costs that these productions have. Ultimately, if you’re producing late night, it is mostly going to be consumed on YouTube,” Andrew Rosen, founder of the media strategy firm Parqor, told Al Jazeera.

The show reportedly costs $100m to produce annually and loses about $40m in revenue, according to reporting from the outlet Puck.

“They’ve [CBS] just maxed out the model for as long as they can and for a variety of reasons that I think probably have more to do with the economics of the merger with Skydance than they do with Trump,” Rosen added, referring to Paramount’s efforts to cut costs as it focuses to merge with Skydance.

On Wall Street, Paramount’s stock is up 0.2 percent as of 1pm in New York (17:00 GMT).

Political timing

The announcement of the cancellation of the show comes as the Department of Justice considers the merger. Economics apart, the move is also being seen as political in nature.

“The timing of it raises a lot of questions. To me, it is the politics of it, especially for broadcast legacy media,” Rodney Benson, professor, Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University, told Al Jazeera.

The Trump White House has gone after news organisations and their parent media companies for what the administration says is coverage that is partisan in nature, including the $16m lawsuit that Paramount settled with Trump. In December, Disney-owned ABC News settled a defamation suit with a $15m donation to Trump’s library and issued a public apology over inaccurate on-air comments. There have also been cuts to public media and use of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to threaten the future of their broadcasting licenses.

“Broadcast networks are regulated by the FCC. They have to have their licences renewed, and they can be, the government can go after them for what they define as news distortion. They’ve already raised that,” Benson added.

Democrats have called out the network for the cancellation of the show and alleged political reasoning.

“CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump — a deal that looks like bribery,” Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said on social media platform X formerly known as Twitter.

“Long-term financial trends could underlie this, but the timing suggests that if it was just financial, then they would have wanted to wait a bit, the optics are just horrible, so there must have been some pressure,” Benson added.

Skydance, the company set to acquire Paramount, is led by David Ellison, who is the son of Larry Ellison, the Oracle CEO and a close Trump ally.

In April, David Ellison attended a UFC fight with the president alongside former confidante Elon Musk, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy and Ted Cruz, among others.

Skydance is also reportedly in talks to acquire The Free Press, an outlet that has been seen as right-wing and friendly to the president. In the last few days, it has published pieces called “Happy Independence Day, NPR” when US Congress voted to scrap public media funding and accusing NPR of liberal bias; and another “The Epstein Files Are Just a Sideshow” as the president rails against releasing files related to deceased sex offender Jeffery Epstein, who Trump has been pictured with.

Jon Stewart took aim at his network’s parent firm Paramount Global for paying $16 million to settle President Trump’s lawsuit against CBS News, calling the move a payoff for approval of a pending merger.

On the Monday edition of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” Stewart and guest and former “60 Minutes” correspondent Steve Kroft laid out the details of the legal skirmish, which they agreed felt like an organized crime shakedown.

“I’m obviously not a lawyer, but I did watch ‘Goodfellas,’” Stewart said. “That sounds illegal.”

Last week, Paramount Global agreed to pay $16 million to settle the legal volley from Trump, who claimed “60 Minutes” edited an interview with his 2024 election opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, to make her look better and bolster her chances in the election. CBS denied the claims, saying the edits were routine.

But the suit — described as frivolous by 1st Amendment experts — was seen as an obstacle to Paramount Global’s proposed $8-billion merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media. The deal requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission, led by Trump acolyte Brendan Carr.

Stewart rhetorically asked Kroft if this settlement was “just a payment so this merger can go through and not be challenged by Trump’s FCC?”

Kroft, who noted that Paramount Global majority shareholder Shari Redstone wants the sale to go through, confirmed Stewart’s assessment.

Kroft noted that “60 Minutes” never said it screwed up, “they just paid the money.”

“So just flat-out protection money,” Stewart said.

“Yeah, it was a shakedown,” Kroft said.

Comedy Central, the cable network that serves as the home of “The Daily Show,” will be included in the Skydance deal. But Stewart remained relentless throughout the segment.

“It doesn’t feel like scrutiny on news networks — it feels like fealty,” Stewart said. “They are being held to a standard that will never be satisfactory to Donald Trump. No one can ever kiss his ass enough.”

Stewart has always spoken his mind on “The Daily Show,” delivering mostly harsh assessments of Trump. It remains to be seen if he’ll have that freedom when Skydance, led by Trump supporter Larry Ellison and his son David, eventually takes over.

Stewart returned to Comedy Central after parting ways with Apple TV in 2023. His last program, “The Problem With Jon Stewart,” ended after Apple executives reportedly expressed concerns over the comedian’s handling of potential show topics related to China and artificial intelligence.

Apple has deep ties to China and has launched an artificial intelligence product incorporated into its operating systems.

Stewart demonstrated the shakiness of the Trump lawsuit’s claims with an edited Fox News interview with Trump from last year.

Trump appeared to give a simple yes when asked on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” if he would de-classify government files on convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. However, Trump equivocated in a longer version of the answer that aired later on the network.

With the Harris interview, CBS News split an answer on Israel that she gave to “60 Minutes” presenting one portion on its Sunday round table program on “Face the Nation.” A different portion aired on the actual program, which led Trump supporters to cry foul.

“I would like to know why the ’60 Minutes’ edit was worthy of a $16-million acquiescence of what is considered the Tiffany news, gold standard network … when very clearly, Fox just did what seems to me a more egregious edit,” Stewart said.

A representative for Paramount Global had no comment on Stewart’s remarks.

Kroft said the the mood is bleak at “60 Minutes” in the aftermath of the settlement.

“I think there is a lot of fear over there,” he said. “Fear of losing their jobs. Fear of losing their country. Fear of losing the 1st Amendment.”

June 19 (UPI) — Paramount has pulled back on a $35 million settlement with President Donald Trump after he sued the media company over a segment on CBS’ News’ “60 Minutes.”

The lawsuit alleges that the program edited an interview with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election to change how she would appear to viewers.

The stalled settlement is holding up a potential $8 billion takeover of Paramount by Skydance, a deal that the two companies negotiated over a year ago.

Despite the legal wrangling, Trump has said he is encouraged by the proposed merger in its current form, and endorsed the deal proposed by Skydance’s David Ellison.

“Ellison is great,” Trump told reporters on the White House lawn Wednesday. He’ll do a great job with it.”

Trump seemed to have connected the delay in the deal to his Paramount lawsuit.

The internal debate over the Trump lawsuit and the way it was being handled prompted CBS News President Wendy McMahon to resign in May, saying in a memo that she and the company could not agree on a path forward.

The Paramount-Skydance deal has been pending review by the Federal Communications Commission since last fall.

President Trump has endorsed David Ellison’s takeover of Paramount Global — an $8-billion merger that has been complicated by his $20-billion lawsuit over CBS’ “60 Minutes.”

On Wednesday, Trump was asked about the hold-up in the federal review of Skydance’s takeover of the storied entertainment company. The question came as reporters clustered around the president on the White House lawn to watch the installation of a flagpole.

The Paramount-Skydance deal has been pending at the Federal Communications Commission since late last fall.

Trump said he hoped the deal goes through.

“Ellison is great. He’ll do a great job with it,” Trump said.

Then he appeared to connect the merger-review delay to his lawsuit against CBS and its parent Paramount over last fall’s “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump has maintained since last October that the Harris interview was edited to burnish her chances in the November election. CBS has denied the allegations, saying the edits were routine. The raw footage showed Harris was accurately quoted, but Trump’s team said he suffered “mental anguish” from the broadcast.

“They interviewed Kamala. Her answer was horrendous,” Trump said Wednesday. “I would say it was election-threatening. I would say election-threatening because it was so incompetent.”

1st Amendment experts have called Trump’s case frivolous, but Paramount wants to avoid waging an extensive legal fight. Paramount’s leaders have pursued a settlement to help clear a path for the company’s sale to Skydance — a deal that needs the approval of the FCC.

The mediation process to resolve the lawsuit, filed in a Texas court, has become protracted.

“They are working on a settlement,” Trump said Wednesday. He mentioned that two high-level CBS executives — the head of CBS News and the executive producer of “60 Minutes” — had abruptly departed as the merger review dragged on.

“They’re all getting fired,” he said.

Late last week, Trump’s legal team filed court documents asking for a deadline extension in the discovery process, disclosing the two sides were working to reach a resolution.

Earlier this month, Ellison met Trump briefly while the two men were sitting ringside at a UFC fight in New Jersey, according to video footage shared online. Skydance declined to discuss Ellison’s interaction with Trump.

It marked the second time this year that Ellison chatted with the president at a UFC match. The first was in April.

It’s been nearly a year since Paramount’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone and fellow Paramount directors approved the two-phased $8-billion deal that will hand the company to the son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison, who is a Trump supporter. The deal will also see the Ellison family buy the Redstone investment vehicle, National Amusements Inc.

Santa Monica-based Skydance intends to consolidate the company that boasts the Melrose Avenue Paramount film studio, Paramount+ streaming service, CBS and cable channels including Comedy Central, Showtime and BET.

Skydance operations and personnel will be folded into Paramount.

The deal faces one final regulatory hurdle: FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s consent to transfer 29 CBS television station licenses to the Ellisons from the Redstones. This week, the Senate approved Trump’s second Republican appointment to the panel, Olivia Trusty.