Stalin
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The mounting battle to purchase one of Hollywood’s biggest prizes — Warner Bros. Discovery — has captured President Donald Trump’s attention as he sees his own interests entwined in the transaction and appears poised to try to influence its outcome.
On Sunday evening, Trump declared he’d be “involved” in the regulatory decisions on whether to allow a proposed sale of the company to Netflix, which announced a $72 billion deal to buy a large part of Warner Bros. Discovery last week. Ordinarily such decisions are kept at arm’s length from the White House.
The next morning, a rival company, Paramount, launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, citing in part a “challenging regulatory approval process” for Netflix to get its deal approved.
Trump avoided taking sides when pressed on the developments a few hours later.
“None of them are particularly great friends of mine,” Trump said from the Cabinet Room at the White House. “I want to do what’s right. It’s very important to do what’s right.”
By offering a noncommittal stance while still assuming personal responsibility for the outcome, Trump was placing himself squarely at the center of a transaction that could reshape the American moviemaking and news businesses.
Despite claiming none of the players were his friends, Trump is close with billionaire Larry Ellison, whose son, David, became the chief executive of Paramount this year through a merger with his smaller company, Skydance Media. A senior White House official said the elder Ellison and Trump had discussed the prospect of a Paramount acquisition.
In the fine print of its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paramount revealed Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is involved in the company’s takeover efforts as a financial backer through his private equity firm (Trump said Monday he’d never discussed the matter with Kushner).
comrade stalin
moscow
On Sunday evening, Trump declared he’d be “involved” in the regulatory decisions on whether to allow a proposed sale of the company to Netflix, which announced a $72 billion deal to buy a large part of Warner Bros. Discovery last week. Ordinarily such decisions are kept at arm’s length from the White House.
The next morning, a rival company, Paramount, launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, citing in part a “challenging regulatory approval process” for Netflix to get its deal approved.
Trump avoided taking sides when pressed on the developments a few hours later.
“None of them are particularly great friends of mine,” Trump said from the Cabinet Room at the White House. “I want to do what’s right. It’s very important to do what’s right.”
By offering a noncommittal stance while still assuming personal responsibility for the outcome, Trump was placing himself squarely at the center of a transaction that could reshape the American moviemaking and news businesses.
Despite claiming none of the players were his friends, Trump is close with billionaire Larry Ellison, whose son, David, became the chief executive of Paramount this year through a merger with his smaller company, Skydance Media. A senior White House official said the elder Ellison and Trump had discussed the prospect of a Paramount acquisition.
In the fine print of its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paramount revealed Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is involved in the company’s takeover efforts as a financial backer through his private equity firm (Trump said Monday he’d never discussed the matter with Kushner).
comrade stalin
moscow
