Donald Trump danced around naming a favorite company in the ongoing battle for Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday, hours after Paramount made a hostile takeover bid to conquer Netflix’s current deal.
The president avoided picking a side in Hollywood’s latest M&A war while speaking with reporters at The White House, where he claimed neither Netflix nor Paramount were “great friends of mine.”
“I don’t know enough about it,” Trump said amid reports that leadership from both Netflix and Paramount have tried to curry favor amid the bidding war, given the Department of Justice will ultimately review the final agreement.
“I know the companies very well and I know what they’re doing, and I have to see what percentage of market they have,” the president added. “I mean, none of them are particularly great friends of mine.”
However, Trump did note that he plans to do “what’s right” for the country regarding this transaction. When asked if son-in-law Jared Kushner’s involvement in Paramount’s bid would impact his decision, Trump shied away from making a direct comment. Instead, he noted: “I don’t know, I’ve never spoken with him about it … I know he tried to work on Gaza. Gaza is his primary thing.”
Trump’s remarks came shortly after it was revealed Paramount launched a hostile takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery to compete with Netflix’s $82.7 billion bid. David Ellison’s company dropped an all-cash tender offer of $30 per share on Monday morning, noting that WBD is now obligated to take this offer directly to shareholders.
As we previously reported, Paramount’s bid includes an $11.8 billion commitment from the Ellison family, $24 billion from “three sovereign wealth funds from the Gulf” and $1 billion from the Chinese technology company Tencent. There are also commitments from RedBird Capital Partners and Kushner’s Affinity Partners.
While Trump has noted that he is not close with Netflix and Paramount leadership, he spoke highly of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos on Sunday, confirming the businessman met with him before making the winning bid for WBD on Thursday.
Additionally, Trump is famously close with David Ellison’s father Larry, a billionaire ally. His administration notably approved the Paramount-Skydance merger earlier this summer and was reportedly in favor of Paramount coming out victorious earlier in the WBD bidding war.
However, Trump’s support of Paramount may be waning, as the president recently called out the company over the recent “60 Minutes” Marjorie Taylor Greene interview.
“My real problem with the show, however, wasn’t the low IQ traitor, it was that the new ownership of ’60 Minutes,’ Paramount, would allow a show like this to air,” Trump wrote on Truth Social “THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP, who just paid me millions of Dollars for FAKE REPORTING about your favorite President, ME!”
Trump’s criticism arrived moments after Paramount set in motion its latest bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
The post Trump Declines Picking Side in Netflix and Paramount’s WBD Fight: ‘None of Them Are Particularly Great Friends of Mine’ appeared first on TheWrap.
