A DEAL to buy Paramount Global that includes Japan’s Sony would be expected to draw scrutiny from US regulators who vet media purchases by foreign buyers, as well as a review from competition authorities, according to Washington-based analysts.
Tokyo-based Sony and Apollo Global Management are considering teaming up in a bid for the film and TV giant Paramount Global, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Sony already owns a film and TV studio, and Justice Department antitrust authorities “would hone in on the effect of studio consolidation on theater owners and pay-TV subscribers,” said Paul Gallant, a Washington-based analyst for Cowen & Co.
Because Sony is foreign-owned, its purchase of Paramount’s CBS TV stations would trigger review by the Federal Communications Commission, as well as agencies that check telecom transactions for national-security implications. The deliberations can take six months or more.
“Team Telecom will look at the national security angle, given Sony is Japanese company,” Gallant said in an interview.
Paramount is presently in exclusive talks on a merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media, an independent film and TV producer that also has some foreign investors.
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Representatives of Apollo and Sony did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Under the Biden Administration, regulators have closely scrutinized deals. The Justice Department unsuccessfully sued to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. FCC scrutiny of Standard General LP’s bid to buy TV station owner Tegna led the private equity firm to drop its bid. That deal also involved an investment by Apollo.
Biden promised that US Steel would remain “America-owned, American operated” at a campaign stop in Pittsburgh this week. The steelmaker is in the process of being acquired by Japan’s Nippon Steel. BLOOMBERG
