FCC approves Gulf funds’ indirect equity stakes in a Paramount-Warner merger

As Paramount looks to take over Warner Bros. Discovery, it’s racked up billions of dollars in financial backing from three Gulf countries. And the Federal Communications Commission has now approved the company’s ask for sizeable indirect ownership from those foreign investors. The FCC granted sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to hold indirect equity interests in a Paramount-Warner combo, but no voting stakes. Paramount welcomed the ruling.

Still, critics have called the move unprecedented — and argued it opens the door to behind-the-scenes influence. Paramount's $81 billion merger with Warner is still on hold amid a separate antitrust battle with twelve states and Hollywood writers.

Read the original report at Apnews.