Foreign Investments in Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal Flagged by Democratic Senators in FCC Letter

Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text A group of Democratic lawmakers are sounding the alarm about foreign investors backing Paramount Skydance‘s $111 billion proposed deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. The senators, in a letter to the FCC on Monday, called for a “full and independent” probe of the merger, citing concerns that financing from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and Chinese gaming giant Tencent could give them influence over editorial decisions at CBS News and CNN. “This constellation of foreign investment from China and from Gulf states, with complex and sometimes competing relationships with the United States, demands rigorous, not perfunctory, review,” the letter reads. Related Stories Business David Ellison Sends Letter to CA Lawmakers Outlining Plan to Keep Hollywood Jobs Local Business David Ellison Visits Warner Bros., Concedes "Turbulent" Start in Meeting With Execs Saudia Arabi’s Public Investment Fund, the Qatar Investment Authority and Abud Dhabi Investment Authority are collectively providing roughly $24 billion in funds to help bankroll Paramount’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, according to SEC filings. For years, these funds have bankrolled global buyout firms, including Apollo Global Management, which is among the groups financing the offer. The deal was structured to provide capital through non-voting equity investments, meaning the financiers don’t have any governance rights. In the letter , the senators said that the financing was purposely designed to avoid triggering mandatory review by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, which assesses investments in businesses that could pose a national security risk. The Middle Eastern funds could try to advance “conflicting interests” from those of the U.S. with in...