FCC Expected To Okay Paramount's Acquisition of WBD

FCC Chair Brendan Carr has signaled that the FCC will not seek to block Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, downplaying competition concerns over combining assets like CBS and CNN.

Carr made the comments in an interview with the Financial Times at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday. 

He noted that while Washington had raised issues about market power concentration from Warner Bros.' earlier deal agreement with Netflix, the Paramount transaction presents "drastically different" market share implications.

The $110 billion deal, valuing Warner Bros. at $31 per share, was signed last week after Netflix declined to match Paramount's upgraded offer. Funding includes $47 billion in equity from the Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners, plus $54 billion in debt commitments from Bank of America, Citigroup, and Apollo.

Carr described the foreign debt components as qualifying as "bona fide debt" under FCC rules, suggesting only a quick, pro forma review would be needed. He emphasized that most regulatory scrutiny would fall to the Department of Justice.

According to Reuters, Despite bipartisan concerns from lawmakers about reduced consumer choices, higher prices, potential job losses in Hollywood, and fewer theatrical releases from merging major studios, Carr characterized competition in the sector as "very robust." He added that regulators are exploring changes to encourage more investment and scale in broadcasting.