Paramount is clearing one hurdle after another to complete its stunning acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, but there are still a few obstacles left in its path.<\/p>\n
WBD stockholders finally approved the Paramount Skydance<\/a> offer for the whole company after weeks of public and private maneuvering to outbid Netflix, which was after just the studio and streaming side of the company. The proposed acquisition could lead to the development of a huge media empire\u00a0with sports at the center of it,<\/a> given the live properties under both the CBS Sports and TNT Sports banners.<\/p>\n However, the inflated price paid by the Ellisons at $31 per share for the entire company is leading to the question of how exactly Paramount is going to pay for it given their own balance sheet.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the question of a group of six Democratic senators, who have sent a letter<\/a> to FCC chairman Brendan Carr objecting to foreign influence over the acquisition. Specifically, they note the equity stakes in the merged asset that would be held by \u201csovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSection 310 of the Communications Act prohibits companies with more than 25% foreign ownership from indirectly owning TV or radio broadcast stations. This provision was meant to ensure powerful media companies are ultimately controlled by American citizens. Paramount, however, seeks an exception far exceeding the 25% statutory cap. Congress enacted these restrictions on foreign ownership of broadcasters because of concerns about the \u201cforeign dominance of the cables and the dangers from espionage and propaganda disseminated through foreign-owned radio stations in the United States\u201d during the First World War.3 The foreign governments behind this investment systematically suppress press freedom in their own countries and have made a series of investments and gifts to entities controlled by the President and his family, raising serious concerns,\u201d the letter states.<\/p>\n According to the Wall Street Journal<\/a>, the equity stakes from Saudi Arabia and others total $24 billion. Paramount has officially asked that those regulations be waived<\/a> so the merger can proceed.<\/p>\n