Paramount Seeks FCC Approval for Foreign Investment in Warner Bros. Acquisition

Paramount Skydance has filed a request with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to approve foreign investments backing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The filing, made public on April 27, 2026, seeks to permit foreign investors to indirectly hold equity and voting interests in Paramount exceeding the 25% statutory benchmarks.

The proposed foreign ownership includes Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) with a 15.1% equity stake, the United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund holding 12.8%, and the Qatar Investment Authority owning 10.6%. Collectively, these Middle Eastern funds would own approximately 38.5% of the merged entity's equity. Paramount has stated that these foreign investors will not have board seats or voting shares.

Despite the significant foreign investment, the Ellison family—David Ellison and his father, Larry Ellison—along with RedBird Capital Partners, will maintain the largest equity stake in the combined company and retain control over shares with 100% voting power.

A Paramount spokesperson emphasized that the FCC filing is standard for such investments and is not a condition for closing the acquisition. The company also seeks advance approval for certain foreign investors to increase their equity and/or voting interests in Paramount up to 20% in the future.

This development follows Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders' recent approval of the $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, pending remaining regulatory approvals.