Overview
- Trump told reporters the combined company’s size "could be a problem" and confirmed an Oval Office meeting with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos last week.
- Netflix agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and TV studios and HBO/HBO Max for about $72 billion, or roughly $82–83 billion including debt, with WBD’s cable networks to be spun off first.
- The deal is expected to undergo intensive review by the Justice Department and foreign regulators as estimates put the combined U.S. SVOD share around or above 30%.
- Unions and theater owners urged regulators to block the merger, with the Writers Guild warning of harm to jobs and Cinema United saying it risks cutting a quarter of the U.S. box office.
- Netflix beat bids from Paramount Skydance and Comcast, with reports citing a roughly $59 billion bank bridge loan backing its offer and a $5.8 billion breakup fee if the deal fails.