The U.K. government is likely to intervene in Paramount Skydance‘s $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
U.K. Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy released a statement Tuesday saying that “following engagement with the parties and independent research, my department has today written to the current and proposed owners of Warner Bros Discovery on my behalf to inform them that I am minded to intervene.”
That suggests that a more formal action will follow. Nandy noted that the combined entity will own Channel 5, TNT Sports, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, CNN International, Paramount+ and HBO Max, and suggested that concerns around consolidation in the on-demand video market are part of her concerns.
She also cited “the need for, to the extent that it is reasonable and practicable, a sufficient plurality of views in news media in each market for news media.”
Nandy said that the companies have until July 6 to respond to their concerns, and that they have not made a final decision as to whether the government will seek legal action.
In a statement, a Paramount Skydance spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter: “We are grateful for the continued constructive engagement with all interested government bodies and relevant authorities, including in the UK. We are confident that our proposed transaction does not pose any media plurality issues in the UK and remain confident in our stated transaction timeline.”
Paramount Skydance is waiting on U.K. and E.U. approval for its deal, having secured approval by the U.S. Department of Justice. However, a group of states, led by California, have suggested that they may file suit to try and stop the merger, though no such suit has been filed as of yet.
Paramount has said that it believes it can close the deal by the early fall, and has agreed to pay a ticking fee to WBD shareholders if the deal is not closed by Sep. 30.
