The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved Paramount’s petition to allow 49.5% of its equity to be held by foreign entities once the Warner Bros. Discovery deal is complete.
\n\nParamount owns 28 TV stations, and thus must get the FCC‘s approval for foreign ownership over 25%. Its acquisition of WBD is backed by three Gulf state sovereign wealth funds.
\n\nIn approving the petition, the FCC dispensed with concerns over national security and improper influence, noting that the foreign funds — from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi — will not own voting stock.
\n\n“We are persuaded by Paramount’s argument that the Foreign Investors therefore will not be able to wield any influence, let alone control, over decisions involving the Licensees,” the commission’s decision states.
\n\nA Paramount spokesperson said Thursday that the company appreciates the FCC’s review of the matter, and noted that the Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners will own 100% of the voting stock in the combined company.
\n\n“At a time when the media industry faces unprecedented competitive pressure from dominant big tech companies, a combined Paramount-WBD will have the scale and resources necessary to compete, invest, innovate, and deliver premium content to audiences worldwide,” the spokesperson said.
Original source: https://variety.com/v/tv/