{"id":1778,"date":"2026-06-10T13:09:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T13:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778"},"modified":"2026-06-10T13:09:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T13:09:12","slug":"eu-kicks-off-probe-of-paramounts-24-billion-in-middle-eastern-funding-for-warner-bros-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778","title":{"rendered":"EU Kicks Off Probe of Paramount\u2019s $24 Billion in Middle Eastern Funding for Warner Bros. Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n\tThe European Union\u2019s regulatory arm is investigating Paramount Skydance\u2019s proposed Warner Bros. Discovery megamerger over the financial backing of three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds.<\/p>\n

Read more Miriam Margolyes to Receive Raindance Icon Award, Reveals Feature Plans for Oscar-Nominated Short \u2018A Friend of Dorothy\u2019: \u2018There Is Room to Expand\u2019 (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe European Commission is investigating the $111 billion Paramount-WBD deal under the EU\u2019s Foreign Subsidies Regulation, looking at the approximately $24 billion being fronted for the takeover by the\u00a0sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.\u00a0The EU set an initial July 14 deadline for vetting the deal under the law, Bloomberg reported. That\u2019s in addition to its investigation under standard merger rules with a July 7 deadline.<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount has disclosed that the merged Paramount-WBD would be\u00a049.5% owned by foreign investors, with about 38.5% of the equity in the new company owned by the trio of Gulf States. Congressional Democrats have urged the Trump administration to review the proposed deal under U.S. foreign-ownership regulations but so far the White House has not signaled that such a review is in the offing.<\/p>\n

\n\tA Paramount rep did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount has previously said the Middle Eastern investors would not have board representation or voting rights in the combined Paramount-WBD, with the new entity fully controlled by the Ellison family and U.S.-based RedBird Capital Partners.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the U.S., Paramount continues to lobby the Justice Department about the alleged pro-competitive aspects of the WBD merger. Meanwhile, several state attorneys general, including California\u2019s Rob Bonta, are considering filing antitrust litigation seeking to halt the deal.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Tuesday, the U.K.\u2019s competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, said it\u00a0initiated an investigation into the proposed Paramount-WBD deal.<\/p>\n

Read more Andy Cohen Reveals Jennifer Lawrence \u2018Provided Crucial Information\u2019 to Track Down \u2018Summer House\u2019 Reunion Leaker: \u2018Her Online Sleuthing Helped Solve This Mystery\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tSeparately on Wednesday, Paramount said in an SEC filing that on June 9, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) approved the Paramount-WBD merger may be consummated, subject to expiration of a 14-calendar day waiting period that expires June 23, 2026. In its decision, the ACCC said that the deal \u201cis unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in relation to the wholesale supply of films for theatrical release in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe materials do not support the view that Paramount and Warner Brothers are particularly close competitors or that they compete more closely with each other than with the other major film studios,\u201d the Australian regulatory commission said.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn addition, on June 5, the New Zealand Commerce Commission informed Paramount Skydance \u201cthat it does not intend to consider the Merger further. The relevant clearance regime is voluntary, and the NZCC does not give informal clearances to parties.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to Paramount, the deal to merge with Warner Bros. has received approvals from competition authorities in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Serbia and North Macedonia, and from foreign direct investment authorities in Germany, Slovenia, Belgium, Czechia, New Zealand, Italy, France and Romania.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Doctor Who\u2019 Christmas Special Not Going Forward This Year at BBC as Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf Exit Series<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The European Commission is investigating the $111 billion Paramount-WBD deal under the EU\u2019s Foreign Subsidies Regulation, looking at the approximately $24 billion being fronted for the takeover by the\u00a0sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1564,433,434],"class_list":["post-1778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-european-commission","tag-paramount-skydance","tag-warner-bros-discovery"],"yoast_head":"\nEU Kicks Off Probe of Paramount\u2019s $24 Billion in Middle Eastern Funding for Warner Bros. Deal - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EU Kicks Off Probe of Paramount\u2019s $24 Billion in Middle Eastern Funding for Warner Bros. Deal - Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The European Commission is investigating the $111 billion Paramount-WBD deal under the EU\u2019s Foreign Subsidies Regulation, looking at the approximately $24 billion being fronted for the takeover by the\u00a0sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-10T13:09:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1778#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1778\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"headline\":\"EU Kicks Off Probe of Paramount\u2019s $24 Billion in Middle Eastern Funding for Warner Bros. Deal\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-10T13:09:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1778\"},\"wordCount\":543,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1778#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9d334d200bcbc795ef6c6cb90222a74f.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"European Commission,\",\"Paramount Skydance,\",\"Warner Bros. Discovery\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Film\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1778#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1778\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1778\",\"name\":\"EU Kicks Off Probe of Paramount\u2019s $24 Billion in Middle Eastern Funding for Warner Bros. Deal - Relocation Observer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1778#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1778#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9d334d200bcbc795ef6c6cb90222a74f.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-10T13:09:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1778#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1778\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1778#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9d334d200bcbc795ef6c6cb90222a74f.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9d334d200bcbc795ef6c6cb90222a74f.webp\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":563},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1778#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"EU Kicks Off Probe of Paramount\u2019s $24 Billion in Middle Eastern Funding for Warner Bros. Deal\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Observer\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"EU Kicks Off Probe of Paramount\u2019s $24 Billion in Middle Eastern Funding for Warner Bros. Deal - Relocation Observer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"EU Kicks Off Probe of Paramount\u2019s $24 Billion in Middle Eastern Funding for Warner Bros. Deal - Relocation Observer","og_description":"The European Commission is investigating the $111 billion Paramount-WBD deal under the EU\u2019s Foreign Subsidies Regulation, looking at the approximately $24 billion being fronted for the takeover by the\u00a0sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.\u00a0","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778","og_site_name":"Relocation Observer","article_published_time":"2026-06-10T13:09:12+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"headline":"EU Kicks Off Probe of Paramount\u2019s $24 Billion in Middle Eastern Funding for Warner Bros. Deal","datePublished":"2026-06-10T13:09:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778"},"wordCount":543,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9d334d200bcbc795ef6c6cb90222a74f.webp","keywords":["European Commission,","Paramount Skydance,","Warner Bros. Discovery"],"articleSection":["Film"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778","name":"EU Kicks Off Probe of Paramount\u2019s $24 Billion in Middle Eastern Funding for Warner Bros. Deal - Relocation Observer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9d334d200bcbc795ef6c6cb90222a74f.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-10T13:09:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9d334d200bcbc795ef6c6cb90222a74f.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9d334d200bcbc795ef6c6cb90222a74f.webp","width":1000,"height":563},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1778#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"EU Kicks Off Probe of Paramount\u2019s $24 Billion in Middle Eastern Funding for Warner Bros. Deal"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/","name":"Relocation Observer","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationobserver.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}