Paramount-Skydance ile Warner Bros. Discovery arasındaki birleşme için uzlaşı sağlandı; süreç iyimser fakat tam destek yok

Kısaca

Paramount-Skydance ile Warner Bros. Discovery arasındaki birleşme için yasal uzlaşı sağlandı; süreç hızlandı, ancak tam destek işaretleri sınırlı Anlaşma kapsamında ABD'de yıllık üretim harcaması en az 300 milyon dolar artırılacak ve federal vergi kredisi onayında yurtiçi üretim payı yüzde 20 olarak taahhüt edilmiştir Piyasa etkisi belirsizliğini sürdürüyor; yatırımcılar ve içerik üreticileri dikkatle izliyor; ileriye dönük adımlar için ek açıklamalar bekleniyor

Ana mesele

Paramount-Skydance ile Warner Bros. Discovery arasındaki birleşme, yasal çözüme rağmen tam destek kazanmış değildir

Ne değişti?

Anlaşma süreci hızlanmış olsa da rekabet incelemesinin etkileri tamamen ortadan kalkmış değildir

Beni nasıl etkiler?

İş dünyası ve yatırımcılar için belirsizlik azalabilir, ancak rekabet riskleri sürüyor

Ne oldu?

Birleşme süreci, eyalet yetkilileriyle uzlaşının ardından ilerletildi.

Neden şimdi?

Rekabet endişeleri nedeniyle mahkeme süreci sürdürülmüşken uzlaşıyla belirsizlik azaltılmak istendi.

Neden önemli?

İçerik üretim ve dağıtım zincirinde yoğunlaşma potansiyeli, küresel medya yatırımlarını etkileyebilir.

Kimler etkileniyor?

• İçerik üreticileri
• İzleyici ve tüketici grupları
• Yatırımcılar
• Rakip medya şirketleri

Sektör ve piyasa etkisi

Medya ve eğlence sektöründe konsolidasyon baskısı artabilir; içerik üretimi harcamaları iyileşebilir

Riskler

• Rekabet değerlendirmelerinin yeniden açılması ihtimali
• İçerik kalitesi ve çeşitliliğinde baskı oluşabilir
• Regülasyonların ek koşulları doğurma olasılığı

Takip edilmesi gerekenler

• Gerekli onaylar ve federal kredi kararları
• ABD içindeki üretim paylarının uygulanması
• Bölgesel rekabet etkilerinin izlenmesi
• Rakiplerin strateji değişiklikleri ve yatırımları

Haberin tamamı

Paramount Skydance's $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery will move forward as the company settled Monday with a group of state attorneys general that sought to block the deal on antitrust grounds.

The lawsuit, brought by a group led by California's Rob Bonta, was previously set to head to trial in March and would have left the deal in limbo through mid-2027.

"We are grateful to Attorney General Bonta and his fellow AGs, as well as the WGA, for engaging in good faith to find a path forward to a resolution that serves all parties, and to Governor Newsom for his support throughout this process," Paramount CEO David Ellison said in a statement Monday. "Our shared aim was an outcome that best serves consumers, workers and — most importantly — the creative community so vital to the art of visual storytelling."

Ellison told employees that the company is looking to close in about two weeks, according to a memo obtained by CNBC.

The acquisition will bring together two storied film studios, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery; a portfolio of TV networks; broadcast network CBS; and two popular streaming services in Paramount+ and HBO Max. The agreement Monday follows backlash from not only the state officials, but also the Writers Guild of America union and prominent actors and directors, who shared concerns about the effects on the U.S. film industry and creative roles.

Bonta detailed the terms of the agreement during a press conference Monday, but noted that "the settlement is not a vote of support for this merger."

"It's not a blessing of the broader merger," he said. "Broadly speaking, we believe further consolidation in markets that are central to American economic life doesn't serve the American economy, consumers, or competition well."

Shares of the company fell 3% following Bonta's press conference after rising earlier in the day.

Bonta said Paramount has agreed to increase its domestic production, including boosting its production spending in the U.S. by at least $300 million annually. The company also agreed that if a federal film credit is approved, it will ensure that 20% of its films are produced domestically in the first two years after the deal closes and 30% of all films in the three years after that. Currently, around 5% of Paramount's film production is domestic, Bonta said. The company must also keep both the Paramount and Warner Bros. production lots in Los Angeles.

The studio will also release 30 films theatrically in its first two years and 32 in the following three years, Bonta said. Four of these films must be independent productions and Paramount must establish an fund dedicated to purchasing indie films.

The fine print of the deal mandates that at least 20 of those films have a wide release in more than 2,000 theaters for the first two years and at least 21 films in the three years after. The company expects that the majority of its theatrical films will have wide releases with the exception of some limited run independent films, a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly about the details told CNBC.

Additionally, at least 20% of annual releases must be tentpole features, meaning the films must have production budgets that exceed $50 million. Paramount also expects to surpass that figure, the person said.

The company had previously agreed to a 45-day exclusive theatrical window and a 90-day window for SVOD, or subscription video on demand.

Bonta said the settlement includes a $30 million penalty per film if Paramount falls short of these pledges, with 90% going to workers. There is also a stipulation that Paramount would be forced to divest the production company Miramax if the company fails to reach this release goal, Bonta said.

Paramount and Warner Bros. are also required to continue negotiating cable packages separately. If the company does not adhere to this clause, Bonta said it would be forced to divest a suite of cable channels.

The company must also pay $9.5 million annually for workforce training and career development in film and TV production and for film programs and community arts organizations, Bonta said.

Additionally, Paramount must establish a new board for CBS News and CNN to ensure editorial independence, he added. The combined company's joint ownership of both of those new sources had raised alarms among some critics of the agreement.

"Together we'll select a trustee to monitor Paramount's compliance with these terms," Bonta said. "And if they ever fail to comply with the many critical terms we have in our settlement, we can go to court."

The deal previously won approval from U.S. and other international regulators, and Paramount had told investors it expected to close the deal by Sept. 30.

California and 11 other states filed suit in mid-July seeking to block the merger, citing antitrust concerns in film and pay TV.

In July, Paramount agreed to delay the merger until June 2027 while the legal challenge played out. That delay would have proven costly for Paramount.

As part of the merger agreement, Paramount agreed to a so-called ticking fee that would have kicked in after Sept. 30 and meant an additional 25 cents per share, per quarter to WBD shareholder until the transaction closed. The fee would have added an estimated $650 million per quarter in cash value to the deal.

The Writers Guild of America sued to block the merger, too, citing "specific harm to writers," and settled its claim with Paramount on Monday. Many creatives throughout Hollywood, including actors, directors, producers and other crew members, penned open letters opposing the deal.

Haberin tamamı için kaynak bağlantısını ziyaret edin.

Kaynaklar

• CNBC - Top News