With two mega-media mergers on the table- WarnerMedia with Discovery and Amazon’s takeover of MGM- FTC scrutiny was a given. Today our resident entertainment lawyer, Brandon Blake, breaks down what we know about Federal approval for both deals.
Amazon.com’s proposed $8.5B deal seems to have raised some hackles with the FTC, reportedly having received a second request to review the merger. Typically, this will vastly extend the deadline faced before a ruling is made. In June, we saw Amazon strike back, asking that the FTC Chair, Lina Khan, be removed on an antitrust basis, citing conflict due to research she has conducted as well as previous advocacy stances. It’s worth noting that the FTC already has an investigation against Amazon open as an overall part of its current Big Tech probe.
In sunnier news, AT&T seems to have a smoother road ahead. Their megamerger with Discovery, as well as the selling of a 30% stake in the pay TV business to the private equity firm TPG, seems set to close faster than originally thought. The regulatory review process for the Discovery merger is set to take about a year, with no problematic aspects yet reached in the process and the deal described as ‘straightforward’. Current hopes are that the deadline suggested for security clearance will prove conservative enough to see the matter resolved faster. On top of some pure speculation about AT&T’s future partnership with DirecTV, things seem to be looking up for the group finally
While the Amazon merger seems doomed to languish under the FTC probe a little longer, should both deals go through it will undoubtedly create some new key players in the media and entertainment landscape. It will be intriguing to see how these new tech-media companies influence the industry as a whole going forward. As always, we will be there to help you understand it all.
Film and Television 