Netflix co-CEO discussed Warner Bros. deal with Trump

Will Netflix’s $82.7 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. get approval from federal regulators?

While Paramount was assumed to be the frontrunner to acquire the storied movie studio thanks to CEO David Ellison’s connections to the Trump administration, new reporting in Bloomberg and The Hollywood Reporter suggests that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos met with President Donald Trump to discuss a potential deal in November.

Trump reportedly told Sarandos that Warner Bros. should sell to the highest bidder, and the Netflix executive seems to have left the meeting convinced that the president would not immediately oppose the acquisition.

After the initial stories about the meeting appeared on Sunday, Trump confirmed that the meeting took place. As for his feelings about the deal, he said, “Netflix is a great company. They’ve done a phenomenal job. Ted is a fantastic man. I have a lot of respect for him. But it’s a lot of market share, so we’ll have to see what happens.”

Bloomberg also reports that Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav was reluctant to sell the company and was surprised when Paramount began to explore an acquisition — if nothing else, he’d expected Ellison to wait until the studio completed a planned split of its movie and streaming businesses from its cable networks.

Ultimately, Warner Bros. said it would consider other bids, leading to a competitive process that Netflix won — although Paramount could still keep its hat in the ring with a hostile bid.

This post has been updated with Trump’s comments.