The British government could intervene in the $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery by Paramount Skydance, citing concerns around the need for a plurality of views in news as well as media ownership in the UK.
UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy said on Tuesday that she was “minded to intervene” in the deal, which would create one of the world’s largest media and entertainment groups.
The takeover would lead to WBD media franchises such as CNN, HBO ,and Warner Bros movies being added to Paramount’s stable of assets, which include CBS in the US and Channel 5 in the UK.
Nandy said in a statement to parliament that she had written to the current and proposed owners of WBD to inform them that she was minded to intervene on public interest grounds.
These included the need for a sufficient plurality of views in news media in the UK, and the need for there to be a sufficient plurality of ownership of media enterprises.
The focus will be those businesses that operate in the UK and provide a range of services available to UK audiences, including Channel 5, TNT Sports, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and CNN International, as well as streamers Paramount+ and HBO Max.
A final decision on the intervention had not been taken, Nandy added, with Paramount given until July 6 to respond. If she decides to proceed, the deal will be scrutinised by Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority, which has already launched a separate merger inquiry on antitrust grounds.
A “minded to” statement by the government is the first step before any legal action to stop a merger or acquisition. The investigative process can then hold up deals. Paramount Skydance—led by David Ellison, the billionaire son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison—has said that it expects to complete the deal in the third quarter of this year.
A Paramount spokesperson said that the company was “confident that our proposed transaction does not pose any media plurality issues in the UK and [we] remain confident in our stated transaction timeline.”
An intervention could further complicate relations between the Trump administration—which backs Paramount’s takeover—and a UK government led by prime-minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham.
The deal has already been approved in other countries, including in the US. The Justice Department waved the deal through this month without concessions, while the EU is set to approve the takeover with certain remedies, which could include a requirement for Paramount to exit its joint venture with Universal Pictures.
A separate deal to sell the Telegraph newspaper in the UK was held up for months after Nandy pushed ahead with a Public Interest Intervention Notice, the official legal notice issued to trigger a government and regulatory investigation into the proposed media merger.
This deal was finally completed on Tuesday, with confirmation of the acquisition of the newspaper by Germany’s Axel Springer.
Nandy also said that legislation was drafted to largely cover broadcast linear channels but should also consider streaming or video-on-demand services.
She added: “If I decide to intervene in this merger on the basis, I will bring forward secondary legislation to finalize this public interest consideration.”
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