FCC clears Paramount to lift foreign ownership cap to 49.5% for proposed Warner Bros. Discovery tie-up
AI Market Summary
The FCC approved Paramount's request to raise allowable foreign equity ownership to 49.5% to accommodate Gulf sovereign wealth fund participation in its planned Warner Bros. Discovery combination, while restricting foreign investors from voting control. The decision reduces a key regulatory hurdle, but the transaction remains paused due to a multistate antitrust lawsuit with trial set for March, keeping execution risk elevated.
Impact level
● Medium
AI InsightAI Insight
● Neutral
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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has approved raising Paramount Global’s cap on foreign ownership to 49.5% to accommodate a post-merger structure in which foreign investors including Gulf sovereign wealth funds would collectively hold 49.5% of the combined company. Paramount said the Ellison family and RedBird Capital would hold 100% of the voting stock in the merged entity. The merger process is currently paused as an antitrust lawsuit filed by California and 11 other states moves forward.
