Entertainment: US regulator FCC allows foreign funds for Paramount-Warner merger
The approval clears the way for multi-billion-euro financing from the Middle East. However, the voting rights are to remain with the Ellison family.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved a request by media conglomerate Paramount Skydance to allow foreign financing of over 25 percent in the planned acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery. The agency stated that this is "in the public interest." The FCC lifted the previous cap of 25 percent for foreign holdings on Thursday.
Individual investors will now be able to hold up to 20 percent of the shares, but they cannot own voting shares or influence management or content decisions, the FCC explained. Following the transaction, investors from the Middle East are expected to hold around 85 percent of the shares, including the Saudi Arabian sovereign fund PIF, which will have 15.1 percent.
Voting rights will remain entirely with the family of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and RedBird Capital Partners. A group of Democratic senators had previously warned about foreign governments exerting influence on the US media landscape. The merger itself is currently on hold pending a lawsuit from 12 US states, which is set to be heard in March.
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