Alan Cumming and Block the Merger UK urge a Stop to the Paramount Skydance/Warner Bros. Discovery Merger
With the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance having been approved by some governments, but more to come, organizing against the deal has ramped up. Alan Cumming and Block the Merger UK has been urging individuals to speak out against the deal ahead of a decision by the UK government.
Cumming and the organization highlight the consolidation leads to “one country” controlling a “massive slice of what we watch in Britain.” This new company would be “beholden to Donald Trump, autocrats and oligarchs.”
Concerns of job cuts are also raised and there’s still time for UK regulators to hear input from citizens.
A website has been set up with an email template and ways, and who, to contact.
Block the Merger was launched in April spinning out of a coalition of Hollywood stars and staff spoke up against the merger.
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said last month she is “minded to intervene” in the $110 billion takeover. A formal decision has not been made. If there is intervention, it’d trigger investigations by Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority, the antitrust watchdog.
But, things are up in the air as the House of Commons has gone into recess with any update by Nandy. That means things are potentially in limbo until September 1 when Parliament returns from its summer break.
Paramount has a deadline of September 30 to close the deal. If it doesn’t the price increases with a “ticking fee” that increases share cost by 25 cents per share, about $650 million, for every quarter beyond the third.
The deal could still close without UK clearance. The CMA though is investigating the merger and intends to issue an update August 7.
The deal between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery has come under heavy scrutiny this past week with a dozen attorneys general suing to stop the deal as well as the Writer’s Guild of America suing, and a third lawsuit involving shareholders.
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