President Donald Trump said he wanted to “do what’s right” in the media war brewing between Netflix, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
On Friday, Netflix said that it would acquire WBD for $72 billion. WBD rejected Paramount Skydance’s offers and proceeded with a sale to Netflix. But on Monday, Paramount launched a hostile bid, with a $30-per-share offer for all of WBD.
In response to a question from a reporter about the fight for WBD on Monday, Trump said, “I know the companies very well. I know what they’re doing, but I have to see, I have to see what percentage of market they have.”
“We have to see the Netflix percentage of market, Paramount, the percentage of market,” he said during a roundtable at the White House. “I mean, none of them are particularly great friends of mine, you know.”
“I want to do what’s right. It’s so, so very important to do what’s right,” he added.
Trump said on Sunday that he would be involved in the sale of WBD, and that the combined market share of Netflix and WBD “could be a problem.”
But he also said that Netflix’s CEO, Ted Sarandos, was a “great person” who has done “one of the greatest jobs in the history of movies.”
Trump’s involvement in the media war is significant because he has the authority to stop a deal from taking place. In 2017, he voiced his opposition to AT&T’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner.
Business Insider’s media and tech correspondent, Peter Kafka, wrote in a column last week that a deal to buy WBD would need regulatory approval, which in 2025 is synonymous with Trump’s approval.
Paramount is putting up a strong fight for Warner Bros. Its CEO, David Ellison, pitched the WBD offer to his employees in a Monday memo seen by Business Insider.
“We believe the combination of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery represents a powerful opportunity to strengthen both companies and the entertainment industry as a whole,” Ellison’s memo wrote.
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