FCC Allows Gulf State Wealth Funds To Own Nearly Half Of Paramount-Warner Bros.
This is despite a pre-existing rule that limits foreign equity ownership to 25 percent.
The saga of the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger that not many people seem to want other than one failson and his billionaire daddy continues. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) just announced that it's waiving its own rules regarding foreign equity ownership, according to a report by The Verge.
The rule states that foreign entities can only own up to 25 percent of media companies that broadcast on public airwaves, and Paramount owns 28 TV such stations. Fortunately for David and Larry Ellison, the totally non-political FCC has decided to allow a stake of 49.5 percent by a trio of wealth funds coming from the governments of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. That's right. Three Gulf states will own nearly half of Paramount-Warner Bros. if this merger goes through.
Don't worry though. The FCC says these...
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