British Government Likely to Challenge Paramount Skydance’s Takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery

At least one government is stepping up and doing their job as the British government said it will likely challenge Paramount Skydance‘s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. In early June, Trump’s Department of Justice approved the merger saying it would “not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers.” The British government might be coming to a different conclusion.

British culture minister Lisa Nandy said she was “minded to intervene.” In the full statement, Nandy said:

Following engagement with the parties and independent research, my Department has today written to the current and proposed owners of Warner Bros Discovery on my behalf to inform them that I am minded to intervene.

“Minded to” means the government will make a move before legal steps are done. The companies can now respond.

Nandy’s concerns are the consolidation of news media as well as consolidation of control of media enterprises.

If the deal goes through, Paramount Skydance would take over Warner Bros. Studios, CNN, DC Comics, and more. They already control CBS, CBS News, and the Ellisons (who control Paramount Skydance) have a large investment in TikTok which is a popular platform for news.

While the United States federal government has abdicated its role in protecting consumers and competition, a coalition of state attorneys general have stated they believe the Trump administration is failing to enforce antitrust laws and may take action themselves. There are also regulatory concerns over the amount of foreign investment in the deal.

Paramount Skydance wants the deal to close before September 1, 2026 or the cost will increase the longer it drags on. The price increases 25 cents per share per quarter it’s not approved. That would add $627 million to the cost of the overall deal each quarter, or roughly $7 million per day.

The British investigation, and others, could add months before the deal is finally approved, if it is.

Source: Graphic Policy