Paramount Seeks FCC OK for 49.5% Foreign Stake in WBD Merger

Paramount Skydance has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission for approval to allow foreign investors to hold nearly 50 percent of the equity in the combined company following its proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a filing disclosed on Monday revealed. The request comes days after Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger in a virtual special meeting.

The filing specifies that existing and expected foreign investors would indirectly own approximately 49.5 percent of Paramount's equity after the deal closes, including about 38.5 percent from three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds: Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund with a 15.1 percent stake, Abu Dhabi's LImad Holding Company at 12.8 percent, and Qatar's Qatar Investment Authority at 10.6 percent. These funds have committed around $24 billion in equity financing toward the $47.2 billion equity portion of the transaction, which also involves more than $60 billion in debt and Warner Bros. Discovery's existing obligations.

Paramount emphasized that the Ellison family, led by CEO David Ellison, and RedBird Capital Partners will retain the largest equity stake...