Netflix co-CEO Discusses potential Warner Bros acquisition with Trump

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos met with U.S. President Donald Trump in November to discuss a potential $72 billion deal with Warner Bros.

The Hollywood Reporter and Bloomberg reported that Trump told Sarandos that Warner Bros. should sell to the highest bidder. The Netflix executive appeared to leave the meeting convinced that the U.S. President would likely not oppose the acquisition.

On Sunday, following initial reports of the meeting, Trump confirmed that the discussion had taken place. When asked about his opinion on the deal, he expressed respect for the company and its CEO, stating, “Netflix is a great company. They’ve done a phenomenal job. Ted is a fantastic man. I have a lot of respect for him.”

However, he also raised concerns about the potential impact on market share, concluding, “But it’s a lot of market share, so we’ll have to see what happens.”

According to Bloomberg, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was initially unwilling to sell the company and was astonished when Paramount began exploring an acquisition. He had reportedly hoped to wait until the studio completed a planned split of its movie and streaming businesses from its cable networks.

Eventually, Warner Bros. said it would consider other bids, leading to a competitive process that Netflix reportedly won, although Paramount could still launch a hostile bid.