Scoop: The White House meeting that never was

"Our decision not to increase our offer reflects our disciplined financial approach and our clear assessment of value, and was not driven by regulatory considerations of any kind. We continue to believe that the transaction we negotiated would have created meaningful shareholder value and offered a clear, achievable path to regulatory approval."

"Trump talked to Sarandos on the phone later that evening after Netflix had already announced it didn't plan to continue bidding. Sarandos' call was the first time he had spoken to the president in several weeks. When they spoke about the deal last year, Trump advised Sarandos not to overpay for the asset."

"A source familiar with the conversations characterized the meeting with DOJ officials as productive. Another noted that DOJ officials never threatened Netflix and told Sarandos they planned to run a fair process."

Netflix CEO Sarandos decided not to increase the company's bid for a significant asset, having already determined the higher price wasn't justified. Trump called Sarandos after Netflix publicly announced it wouldn't continue bidding. This was their first conversation in several weeks. When they previously discussed the deal, Trump had advised against overpaying. Sarandos met with Justice Department officials in Washington, described as a productive meeting where DOJ officials indicated they would run a fair process without threats. Democratic lawmakers questioned whether these White House meetings influenced Netflix's decision to withdraw, allowing a competitor to win the deal. Netflix maintained its decision reflected disciplined financial assessment rather than regulatory concerns.

Read at Axios