Paramount Global’s $8 billion merger with Skydance Media faces a host of new hurdles as it looks to win U.S. regulatory approval — from controversy over a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris to objections from the Teamsters union, they said sources for The Post.
The outlook for the mega-deal has grown murkier since Donald Trump won the presidential election, sources say. That’s in part because the president-elect has filed a $10 billion lawsuit alleging Paramount’s CBS network is engaged in “voter interference through malicious, misleading and substantial distortions of the news.”
The beef follows a controversial “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris, which Trump claims was edited to eliminate the vice president’s sloppy, meandering language and shore up her image in the crucial days before Election Day.
“I think the Trump part is a real issue,” a source close to Paramount said on condition of anonymity.
One possible scenario, according to the source, is that Paramount — controlled by media heiress Shari Redstone — is forced to conduct an internal investigation into the “60 Minutes” interview to satisfy Trump and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, his pick. to run the agency under his administration.
“I’m pretty sure that the complaint about the distortion of the news over the ’60 Minutes’ transcript is something that will likely arise in the context of the FCC’s review of that transaction,” Carr said in an interview last month.
It’s too early to know whether the merger approval requests may also include handing over the raw transcript of the interview, according to the source.
Skydance has tapped Makan Delrahim — the former Justice Department antitrust chief under the first Trump administration who is now a partner at white-shoe law firm Latham & Watkins — to reach the deal with regulators, the sources said.
While the DOJ has cleared the merger, the FCC on Nov. 15 set a new schedule for public comment, extending it until January after initially setting a plan on Sept. 6 that ended Nov. 1, according to public filings.
At the time, the FCC cited an earlier filing that falsely stated tech billionaire Larry Ellison would have voting control over Paramount instead of his son David Ellison, CEO of Skydance. Insiders, however, considered it a prank intended to delay the process.
The FCC under Trump could delay approving the deal until late next year when the merger is scheduled to be completed, the sources said.
In another plot twist, the International Teamsters have entered the picture, with traders concerned that powerful union president Sean O’Brien is exerting influence on the president-elect, sources said.
O’Brien gave a speech at the Republican National Convention, breaking with Teamsters tradition. The union leader, who has also been seen at Mar-a-Lago, also pushed Trump toward his controversial pick of Oregon Representative Lori-Chavez-DeReme to lead the U.S. Labor Department, the sources said.
In an Oct. 7 FCC filing, the Teamsters took issue with a Skydance presentation that laid out a $2 billion savings plan, half of which was slated for the first year, “suggesting immediate job cuts after the shutdown “. of a 15% workforce reduction this year, according to the filing.
A report emerged this week that David Ellison is planning sweeping changes following the merger with Paramount. Ellison is reportedly weighing combining all of Paramount’s television assets, including CBS and MTV, into one entity, according to Bloomberg.
David Ellison is meeting with Paramount employees and telling them that no decision has been made about the layoffs, Bloomberg said.
“Skydance’s promises of ‘synergies’ and Paramount’s recent workforce reductions tend to undermine their labor-related promises,” the Teamsters alleged in the regulatory filing.
“The Teamsters can have leverage with the FCC,” Mario Gabelli, whose firm has the second largest number of votes in Paramount, told The Post. “Yes, I recognize that there is a possibility that the FCC will find an excuse not to approve the deal.”
The Teamsters claim the layoffs would hurt local news coverage on the 14 local Paramount-owned CBS television stations, including New York’s WCBS. Similar concerns from the Teamsters helped convince the FCC to sink hedge fund Standard General’s bid last year to buy local TV station operator Tegna, sources said.
It’s worth noting that the Teamsters have yet to oppose the deal, but have raised concerns, the sources said. O’Brien is asking Skydance for written commitments about staffing levels that Skydance has not provided, the sources said.
Attorney David Goodfriend, who advised the Teamsters on their opposition to the Tegna deal, is now advising the Teamsters in talks with Skydance and the FCC.
“If the Teamsters look at it rationally, a deal will provide security for a lot of their people,” said the source close to Paramount, referring to Skydance adding $1.5 billion to Paramount’s balance sheet as part of the merger.
One possible way to satisfy the FCC would be to divest or sell Paramount’s owned and operated television stations, which Gabelli said could be worth more than $6 billion.
“I don’t think Ellison was going to get off easy,” Gabelli said.
Skydance declined to comment. Paramount and the Teamsters did not return calls.
There are other options for Paramount if regulators block this merger.
Currently, a group of suitors in a consortium called Project Rise Partners that expressed interest in buying Paramount on Aug. 15 is talking to potential new investment partners and wants the chance to make an all-cash offer again, the sources said.
Project Rise says it aims to rebuild the MTV, BET and Paramount TV networks and stations, the sources said.
Paramount would have to pay Skydance $400 million if it ultimately received another offer, according to public filings.
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