Will Netflix's $82.7 billion deal to buy Warner Bros. get approval from federal regulators?
Paramount was thought to be the frontrunner to buy the storied movie studio because of CEO David Ellison's ties to the Trump administration, but new reports from Bloomberg and The Hollywood Reporter indicate that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos met with President Donald Trump in November to discuss a potential deal.
President Trump reportedly told Sarandos that Warner Bros. should be sold to the highest bidder, but Netflix executives appeared to leave the meeting confident that the president would not immediately object to the deal.
Bloomberg also reported that Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav was reluctant to sell the company and was surprised that Paramount had started considering an acquisition — Ellison had expected him to wait at least until the studio completed its planned separation of its movie and streaming businesses from its cable network.
Ultimately, Warner Bros. said it would consider other bids, and while Netflix ended up winning the competitive process, there's still a chance Paramount could retain its position in a hostile bid.