The FCC has issued a Declaratory Ruling approving the acquisition by a company owned by a Canadian citizen of 100% of the ownership interest in a company that owns an AM radio stations in Seattle.
Radio Punjab CEO Sukhdev Dhillon filed a $75,000 deal in August 2023 to buy out partner Mohan Cheema’s 80% stake in KNTS (1680). Because Dhillon — who already owns a 20% interest in their jointly owned BAAZ Broadcasting — is a Canadian citizen, it required FCC approval to exceed the 25% foreign ownership limit.
Until about a decade ago, a 25% limit in the parent company of an FCC broadcast licensee would have been the limit allowed by the FCC under Section imposed on foreign ownership of a US broadcast station by Section 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act. Section 310(b) limits non-US citizens from holding more than 20% of a broadcast licensee, and foreign owners cannot hold more than 25% of a parent company “if the Commission finds that the public interest will be served by the refusal or revocation of such license.”
Acquiring companies with foreign ownership must track their ownership, and the addition of new foreign investors into their companies likely will require that those investors first go through this extended review process. US companies also need to track their foreign ownership to ensure that it does not go about the statutory limits without FCC consent. The FCC has issued guidance on how public US companies can track their foreign ownership
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