$7 million per day is the "ticking fee" that begins accruing against Paramount if its pending merger does not close by late September. The company has already absorbed an adverse early ruling in the lawsuit. That daily rate underlies the case's projected billion-dollar loss exposure.
The fee's mechanics
The ticking fee is a contractual provision that activates once the late-September deadline passes without a deal close. Until that date, Paramount carries no ticking-fee liability. After it, the meter runs at $7 million per day and each elapsed day adds directly to the total.
At that rate, scale is a straightforward function of time. The projected billion-dollar loss figure reflects the daily rate extended over a prolonged delay. No cap on the fee appears in the available reporting.
What the early ruling changes
Paramount suffered what reporting characterizes as a "major early blow" in the lawsuit. A loss at an early stage in merger litigation typically reshapes both the litigation timeline and the settlement math for all parties. The ruling increases the pressure to close before the ticking fee activates.
The company now faces two compounding liabilities: the litigation itself, and the per-day clock that starts if court proceedings push the deal past late September. Losing early raises the probability that the case runs long enough to cross that date. A close after the deadline starts the $7 million per-day charge immediately.