Culture secretary Lisa Nandy says she will not intervene in \u00a385bn deal after securing guarantees on Channel 5<\/p>\n
The UK culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has said she will not intervene in Paramount\u2019s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, removing one of the remaining obstacles to the blockbuster deal.<\/p>\n
However, Paramount has made significant concessions to secure the UK government\u2019s backing for the $110bn (\u00a385bn) takeover, which will create a global media powerhouse and effectively bolster the influence of Paramount\u2019s chief executive, David Ellison.<\/p>\n
Nandy\u2019s decision to order Britain\u2019s media and competition watchdogs to examine the deal in June came as a shock. However, she has now approved the deal, with conditions attached around protecting UK-based content.<\/p>\n
The UK\u2019s Competition and Markets Authority has also cleared the deal, which has already been approved by the EU.<\/p>\n
Under the UK guarantees, Paramount\u2019s Channel 5 will continue to \u200coperate as a public service broadcaster until the end of 2034. Channel 5 News will retain its editorial independence and will remain separate from other news operations covered by the merger, CBS News and CNN International.<\/p>\n
Paramount has agreed that its linear and on-demand services in Britain would retain distinct editorial identities for five years, including its children\u2019s TV content.<\/p>\n
Nandy\u2019s department also secured a guarantee that the deal would not reduce the number of people commissioning content in Britain, while Channel 5 would continue to back UK-originated content covering drama, factual and entertainment shows.<\/p>\n
Nandy will meet with Paramount \u201cin the coming weeks\u201d to seek assurances about the deals\u2019 impact on Britain\u2019s wider creative industries.<\/p>\n
The news means Ellison is a step closer to closing the deal, which would create a group encompassing the Hollywood studios behind film franchises including Superman, Batman and Top Gun, the UK\u2019s Channel 5, the news channel CNN and TNT Sports.<\/p>\n
The acquisition still faces a big final hurdle before being completed, following a legal challenge by a coalition of US states and writers\u2019 guilds to block it.<\/p>\n
There are also concerns in the media about the potential impact on the news coverage of Warner\u2019s global news network, CNN. Paramount\u2019s own network, CBS News, has faced job cuts, tensions and claims of political interference to push coverage more in line with Donald Trump\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n
Ellison, the son of the tech mogul and Trump ally Larry Ellison, has faced other accusations of attempting to curry favour with the White House as he pursued acquisitions. In a recent essay, however, he denied having a pro-Trump bias.<\/p>\n
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