UK government may ‘intervene’ in Paramount’s $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros

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Lisa Nandy, the British secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said Tuesday she may “intervene” in Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

In a statement, Nandy said she wrote letters to both companies stating she is “minded to intervene” on “public interest grounds,” specifically the need for a “sufficient plurality of views in news media” in U.K. markets and a “sufficient plurality of persons with control of the media enterprise.”

Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros., which would result in the likes of CBS, CNN, HBO, TNT and TBS falling under the same umbrella, received approval from the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department (DOJ) earlier this month.

The DOJ determined the deal “is not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers,” instead arguing its analysis of the transaction revealed it has “benefits for American consumers and workers.”

But Nandy said Tuesday that British law allows her to take action against the deal. She noted her focus is on how the transaction would impact services available to U.K. audiences, including TNT Sports, Cartoon Network and CNN International.

“Under the Enterprise Act 2002 (‘the Act’), I can intervene if I have reasonable grounds to suspect that arrangements are in contemplation which, if carried into effect, will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation and I believe that one or more public interest considerations under the Act may be relevant,” she added.

The letters Nandy sent to both parties require them to respond to her queries by Monday. The secretary stressed Tuesday she has “not taken a final decision” on whether to intervene in the deal.

The Hill has reached out to representatives for Paramount and Warner Bros. for comment.

Paramount, owned by Larry and David Ellison, beat out Netflix’s $72 billion bid to acquire Warner Bros. in February, after the latter company’s board said it favored Paramount’s “superior” offer to buy it at $30 per share

Upon announcing the deal, Paramount said in February it expects the transaction to close in the third quarter of this year.

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