While we await the inevitable Trump DOJ investigation of Netflix, Paramount/Skydance has apparently not given up.
David and Larry Ellison are reportedly considering a “hostile bid” for Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing that its $30-per-share all-cash offer is actually more valuable than Netflix’s proposal. They’re not taking the L, and willing to push things to the very limit to get what they want.
According to New York Post, the Ellisons are said to be “livid” and are now positioning for a “counteroffensive.” They believe they can prevail in this war by either pursuing a hostile bid or taking their case directly to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders.
“They are really pissed over at Paramount/Skydance,” a source says. “They think this was a rigged deal process because of the friendship between the CEOs, and they’re betting the shareholders will be pissed when they find out what went down.”
Meanwhile, over at the White House, President Trump’s advisers — including some of his closest officials — are reportedly “concerned about the deal,” a senior administration official told The Wall Street Journal on Friday. All of which raises the central question: how, exactly, does Netflix plan to slip this merger past Trump’s DOJ?
It was reported earlier that Trump’s DOJ antitrust chief was preparing to launch a “sweeping multi-year investigation” into Netflix’s dominance and alleged monopoly over streaming. Furthermore, officials appear to be “unmoved” by Netflix’s insistence that its recent lobbying efforts regarding WB do not violate antitrust law.
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Trump wanted Ellison to take over Warner Bros. Discovery. Add in the full-scale meltdown of the industry over the Netflix deal — which included the WGA, PGA, and DGA publicly slamming the potential merger — and it’s not a stretch to believe that this thing is far from done.
It now appears to be a bipartisan effort to stop this deal, with both Republicans and Democrats uniting, for once, around a common cause. Meanwhile, Hollywood is in full panic mode, viewing the merger as the final death knell for theatrical exhibition. What happens next is anybody’s guess, but Trump — who has yet to utter a word or post anything about it — still holds the power to slow this train down.