FCC Clears Gulf Money in Paramount-Warner Deal
FCC Clears Gulf Money in Paramount-Warner Deal
The News
The Federal Communications Commission approved Paramount Skydance's request for foreign investment backing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the agency said Thursday.
The ruling clears Gulf state sovereign wealth funds to hold up to 49.5% ownership tied to the deal, according to Variety.
The FCC signed off despite a group of senators raising concerns about the foreign money behind the transaction, Reuters reported.
The Number
49.5% — the foreign ownership stake the FCC's approval permits, just under half the company. The Hollywood Reporter described the greenlight as structured to let foreign investors own a substantial share of Paramount without controlling it.
Timeline
Paramount Skydance petitioned the FCC for permission to take foreign investment supporting its purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, and a group of senators raised concerns about the arrangement, per Reuters.
The FCC said it approved the petition, allowing 49.5% ownership by Gulf state sovereign wealth funds as part of the Warner Bros. acquisition, Variety reported. Deadline reported the merger had cleared the agency's foreign ownership review.
Reactions
A group of senators had pressed the commission with concerns about the deal's foreign backers, Reuters reported. The FCC approved it anyway.
The Hollywood Reporter framed the agency's decision as a deliberate line-drawing exercise: foreign investors get a large financial stake, but not control of the company.
Trade coverage from Deadline treated the ruling as a procedural hurdle cleared rather than a final verdict on the merger itself.
What's Next
With the foreign ownership question settled at the FCC, attention turns to the rest of Paramount Skydance's path to closing its Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition.
The senators who objected have not said, in the reporting so far, what they will do now that the commission has ruled against their concerns.
Poll
Should Gulf state sovereign wealth funds be allowed to own nearly half of a major American media company?
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