Overview
- In a March 23 letter, seven Democratic senators urged FCC Chair Brendan Carr to open a full Section 310(b) foreign ownership review of Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
- The senators asked the FCC to deny confidentiality requests, require public filing of all foreign investment documents, seek public comment, and coordinate with CFIUS, the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and intelligence agencies.
- Their concerns focus on roughly $24 billion in financing from Saudi Arabia’s PIF, Qatar’s QIA, and Abu Dhabi’s ADIA, along with reporting that Tencent has renewed its participation, citing potential influence over CNN.
- Paramount Skydance has stated in SEC filings that the Gulf funds agreed to forgo governance rights and that the deal structure places their non‑voting stakes outside CFIUS jurisdiction.
- The senators also pointed to Carr’s earlier public remarks predicting a minimal FCC role, and they noted that Paramount’s CBS station licenses remain subject to foreign ownership rules even without broadcast license transfers in the merger.