EU Probes Middle East Funding Behind Paramount-WBD Merger
The European Commission will review Paramount's $24 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, assessing Middle Eastern funding from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Qatar Investment Authority, and Abu Dhabi's L'imad Holding Co., alongside U.S. backers RedBird and LionTree. A Phase 1 deadline for this subsidy review is July 7, and the Commission must decide by July 14 whether to clear the deal or open a full investigation; the UK CMA is also launching a separate merger probe.