UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is considering an intervention in the $110 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Nandy cited public interest concerns regarding media plurality and news ownership concentration. The involved companies must respond to the government by July 6.
The U.S. Department of Justice and other international regulators have already approved the transaction. A formal UK intervention would trigger reviews by media regulator Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA expects to announce steps for its separate antitrust review by early August.
Delays beyond September 30 trigger a ticking fee clause in the merger agreement. This provision adds hundreds of millions of dollars to the acquisition price every quarter.