The Federal Communications Commission is threatening to block media mergers based on corporate DEI policies.
Why it matters: This creates new layers of complexity and uncertainty for dealmakers, and reflects how the Trump administration is willing to pull novel levers to end what most CEOs viewed as sensible policies until two months ago.
Driving the news: FCC chair Brendan Carr tells Bloomberg that he only can "approve a transaction if we find that doing so serves the public interest ... If there's businesses out there that are still promoting invidious forms of DEI discrimination, I really don't see a path forward where the FCC could reach the conclusion that approving the transaction is going to be in the public interest."
- He also mentioned several pending transactions, including Paramount's merger with Skydance, Verizon's $20 billion deal for Frontier Communications, and U.S. Cellular's $4.4 billion wireless unit sale to T-Mobile US.
