Paramount Nears Deal For Gulf State Funds To Back WBD Merger (Report)

Paramount Skydance seems to be nearing a deal to secure funding from three Gulf nation sovereign wealth funds to back its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to a Sunday report in the Wall Street Journal.

Per the outlet, the corporation is seeking signed equity commitments of close to $24 billion, for which Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has agreed to contribute approximately $10 billion. The talks, which also involve Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co., may result in a signed agreement as soon as Monday.

The move comes after Democratic lawmakers expressed national security concerns related to foreign ownership and backing of the merger. Last month, a group of senators called on FCC chairman Brendan Carr to conduct a “full and independent” review of Paramount‘s proposed $81 billion deal due to Arab state investment. At the same time, Carr has said the agency would have minimal oversight over the transaction, as it does not involve the transfer of ownership of broadcast stations.

In its open letter, Democratic leadership cited a provision of the Communications Act, which dictates that foreign entities may not hold more than 25% of the equity or voting interest in a U.S. company that holds a license without the commission’s approval. Meanwhile, Paramount has maintained that the transaction does not require oversight by the Committee on Foreign Investment as the Gulf bodies will not have governance over the corporation.

An earlier version of Paramount’s hostile bid included financial backing from Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s private equity firm Affinity Partners. Both are no longer involved, and the former had earlier withdrawn from the transaction amid concerns that its interest would trigger Foreign Investment review.

Gulf investors’ seemingly imminent backing will supplement costs faced by Paramount Skydance chair and CEO David Ellison and his billionaire father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Additional backers are RedBird Capital Partners, Bank of America, Citigroup and asset management firm Apollo Global Management.

News of the near-to-closing talks also comes as the region faces continuing turmoil and instability with the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Meanwhile, WBD has set an April 23 special meeting of shareholders to vote on the media giant’s sale to freshly merged entity Paramount Skydance, constituting a key step forward in the process. The deal is also pending regulatory review in Europe, and WSJ reports Paramount execs have told employees to prepare for potential close by the end of July.