Paramount Skydance Corp.'s $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. has received conditional approval from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA concluded its Phase 1 review, which began on June 9, ahead of its statutory deadline of August 7. However, the deal still faces significant hurdles, including a high-stakes US lawsuit and a potential public interest intervention in the UK by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
Nandy stated on June 30 that she was "minded to intervene" on public interest grounds, specifically concerning "plurality of views in news media" and "plurality of persons with control of the media enterprises." If she proceeds, the UK media regulator Ofcom would also assess the deal, adding another layer of scrutiny to the existing CMA and potential public interest probes. Such an intervention would create greater uncertainty over the timing of the UK review, as reporting deadlines would be set by the Secretary of State rather than the CMA's statutory timeline.
The conditional approval from the CMA comes despite earlier concerns by competition lawyers regarding potential remedies, particularly in children's television channels like Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, where the combined entity could control 50%-60% of the UK market. Some analysts believe Nandy's potential intervention might be politically motivated, intended to pressure the parties to agree to remedies with the CMA.
Meanwhile, the deal's progress in the US has been paused until at least August 17, with a federal judge overseeing multiple challenges, including from a group of state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America. A hearing on August 3 will determine if the deal will be further delayed pending a trial next year to block it permanently. The European Union granted conditional approval on July 22 after Paramount agreed to pull out of the Universal accord within three months of the deal's closing.
