Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY)-Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) deal faces UK delay risk as $650 million fee lifts pressure
Britain’s threat to review Paramount Skydance Corp’s $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros Discovery has become a balance-sheet risk for investors after a weekend report that Chancellor Rachel Reeves was angry at Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy’s challenge to the Hollywood deal. Nandy has not blocked the takeover. She said she was “minded” to intervene on public-interest grounds tied to news plurality, media control and on-demand services, and gave the companies until July 6 to respond. If she issues an intervention notice, Ofcom would assess public-interest issues and the Competition and Markets Authority would assess the merger; the CMA already has an Aug. 7 Phase 1 deadline.