South Bay Congressman Raises National Security Concerns About Paramount Hostile Takeover Bid of Warner Bros.

"You've likely heard that David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, and his company Skydance, completed an $8 billion merger with Paramount in August. And reporting by the New York Times and others suggests that Ellison had planned to then go after an acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), creating a new behemoth in movies and streaming that could take on the likes of Netflix."

"Ellison's plan was seemingly thwarted last week with the announcement by Netflix and WBD that they had agreed to a sale. And it's a deal that has many creatives in Hollywood balking at the notion that Netflix might own one of the last remaining studios producing and distributing movies to physical movie theaters a business that Netflix has no particular interest in."

"President Trump has also inserted himself, posting to social media over the weekend suggesting that he would be "involved" in any antitrust decision to approve or disapprove the Netflix deal. And as the Times reported this week, a Trump family member, Jared Kushner, is one of the investors backing Paramount's bid for WBD, with his private equity firm Affinity Partners, so lots of conflicts of interest there."

David Ellison's Skydance completed an $8 billion merger with Paramount and reportedly eyed an acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to build a major movies-and-streaming competitor. Netflix and WBD announced a sale that many Hollywood creatives oppose because Netflix has limited interest in theatrical distribution. Ellison and merged Paramount Skydance launched a hostile takeover bid for WBD as an alternate offer to shareholders. President Trump signaled potential involvement in any antitrust decision. Jared Kushner, via Affinity Partners, and sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi are investors backing the bid. Two members of Congress have raised concerns.

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