While CBS's acquisition of Network Ten has been largely reported as a done deal, the transaction still faces a number of barriers. The history of politically expedient and opaque decision making by the Foreign Investment Review Board and politicians means we shouldn't assume this deal is done, says Mumbrella's Paul Wallbank.
Should Morrison or cabinet choose to block CBS’s move it would be far from the first time a Treasurer has buckled before News Corporation – Paul Keating’s folding over the Herald & Weekly Times comes immediately to mind – and the opacity of FIRB recommendations would provide Scott Morrison with ample excuses.
The truth is we can’t assume the CBS takeover of Ten is a done deal until the creditors, the courts and the government have decided to approve the purchase. This story has a long way to run.
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