Middle Eastern Sovereign Wealth Funds Pump Eye-Watering Sums Into $111B Paramount-Skydance Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery

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Netflix has withdrawn from the competition to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, clearing the way for Paramount Skydance to move forward with a deal worth $111 billion. The decision follows a competitive bidding process between the two companies. CNN reports that Netflix determined the deal was no longer a good financial investment after Paramount Skydance increased its offer to $31 per share, exceeding Netflix’s bid of $27.75 per share.

Paramount Skydance, headed by David Ellison (whose father co-founded Oracle), made an offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery with a full cash payment. The deal is expected to be financed primarily – around $24 billion – by investment funds from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

Because these investors now have a stake in Paramount – which owns major media outlets like CBS and CNN – concerns are being raised about potential foreign influence over American news and entertainment.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is positive about the potential merger. He stated that once the company’s board approves the deal with Paramount, it will significantly benefit shareholders. Zaslav is enthusiastic about what a combined Paramount, Skydance, and Warner Bros. Discovery could achieve, and he’s eager to begin collaborating to create compelling stories.

The agreement has drawn criticism from groups that monitor the media and from politicians. Free Press, a public advocacy organization, cautioned that it could allow a wealthy family, seen as easily controlled, to gain even greater influence over a large portion of news, television, and film production.

As a concerned viewer, I was really worried to hear Senator Warren call the acquisition a total “antitrust disaster.” It’s scary to think that billionaires who supported Trump could end up controlling what news and entertainment we all see, and even how much we pay for it! I also heard from Alvaro Bedoya, who used to be on the Federal Trade Commission, and he pointed out this deal could seriously affect channels like CBS, CNN, and HBO – even TikTok! It’s unsettling to think about how much influence investors from the Middle East could have over our media.

As a movie fan, I’ve been reading about how Paramount and Skydance are funding their projects, and it’s a little concerning. They’ve received a huge $24 billion investment from various foreign government-owned funds, and a lot of experts are worried about what that could mean for the movies and shows we see. Basically, people are concerned that these investors might try to influence the stories being told, and that’s not something anyone wants to see happen to American media.

This purchase follows Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance last August, a deal that faced significant review from regulators. Paramount has also been making changes to CBS News since appointing Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief after acquiring her company, Free Press, for $150 million.

Weiss has faced criticism for several choices she’s made as head of CBS News, such as staff reductions and postponing a “60 Minutes” report on deported Venezuelan migrants. Some believe this delay was due to political interference.

Netflix once considered buying most of Warner Bros. Discovery for $83 billion, which included popular channels like HBO and Warner Bros. studios. The plan involved separating channels like CNN into a separate company. Now that Netflix has backed out, Paramount Skydance is expected to make the purchase, likely using a cash offer funded primarily by investment funds from the Middle East.

I’m really watching the potential merger between Paramount and Skydance, especially with Warner Bros. Discovery involved. If it goes through, it could create a massive media company, backed by a lot of international funding. Right now, the White House and the Justice Department, who need to approve it from an antitrust standpoint, haven’t said anything publicly about it yet, and I’m eager to hear their take.

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2026-02-28 18:44