The Federal Communications Commission has cleared the way for Paramount Global to complete its merger with Skydance Media, announced on Thursday that it had approved the deal. The decision removes a final barrier for media and entertainment companies to close its transactions.
FCC approval, which was necessary to proceed to the deal, cap on a long -running corporate saga on the fate of the paramount, which is the owner of Paramount+, Paramount Pictures Movie and Television Studios, CBS television network and CBS news and stations. Paramount also owns Nickelodian, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and other media brands.
Paramount global Agreed to merge After stopping the conversation with David Alison’s Skydance Media in July 2024 a month ago. The deal followed a long, turbulent sales process, which included interest from other major corporate players and investors, including Seigram heir Edgar Brofman Junior, Media Mogul Barry Diller, Sony Pictures and Private Equity Firm Apollo Global Management, and Alan Media, Controlled Company Media, Controlled Company.
Paramount had said that it expects to discontinue a $ 8.4 billion merger in the first half of 2025. But the first half of the year came and went, and the merger was reviewed by the FCC and its chairman Brendon car, which was appointed by President Trump in the role earlier this year.
In late 1 July, Paramount announced that it was Conducted a lawsuit On editing “60 minutes” interview with Kamla Harris, a suit with a suit that paramount told the court that he was without merit. The company agreed to pay $ 16 million – most of whom would go to Mr. Trump’s President’s Library – and after those interviews in the show, agreed to publish tapes of the future “60 minutes” interviews with the presidential candidates after those interviews. Mr. Trump has since said that he hopes that new owners of Paramount will be offered $ 20 million in advertising and PSA. Paramount said in a statement that he had no knowledge of any commitment for Mr. Trump outside the disposal of $ 16 million, and Skydance did not respond to the remarks requests.
Earlier this week, FCC, in two letters to FCC, Skidan had promised to appoint a CBS News Lokpal to review the complaints of editorial bias for a period of at least two years, and the company confirmed that Paramount ended or revised the practices of their DEI programs and work earlier this year.
