By Julia Pierrepont III
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Netflix's effort to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is encountering unexpectedly strong resistance and rising political scrutiny, with a hostile bid from Paramount Skydance and the involvement of U.S. President Donald Trump placing the merger squarely at the center of a widening national debate.
Paramount Skydance, led by David Ellison, announced Monday it would offer 30 U.S. dollars per share for WBD, criticizing the 27.75 U.S. dollars-per-share Netflix deal unveiled on Dec. 5 as providing "inferior and uncertain value."
Paramount Skydance asserted that its latest bid would give shareholders 18 billion U.S. dollars more than Netflix's proposal and offer a smoother regulatory path. The company said its acquisition would strengthen Hollywood's production ecosystem, reinforce theatrical releases and boost industry competition.
Based on Paramount Skydance's current offer, the total value of the all-cash deal would reach 108.4 billion U.S. dollars, compared with Netflix's 82.7 billion U.S. dollars cash-and-stock package.
Unlike the deal struck with Netflix, which covered WBD's film studio and streaming service and would see the company's Global Networks division, Discovery Global, spun off into a new publicly-traded company next year, Paramount Skydance's offer is for the entirety of WBD.
The company said it had submitted six acquisition proposals to WBD in the past 12 weeks but received no meaningful response, prompting it to bring the offer directly to shareholders.
A Monday report from Forbes said the hostile takeover bid was backed by the Ellison family, RedBird Capital, sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, and Jared Kushner -- President Trump's son-in-law.
According to a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Kushner's Affinity Partners has committed an unspecified amount of equity financing to the deal.
After the Netflix-WBD merger plan was announced on Friday, U.S. entertainment analysts warned that antitrust concerns and political variables could delay any final agreement for years and harm the broader industry.
Hollywood unions have already warned of potential job losses and higher consumer prices in an industry still recovering from strikes and the COVID-19 downturn. Lawmakers from both parties have echoed similar concerns.
But Paramount Skydance's aggressive push -- coupled with Trump's decision to wade into the process -- has transformed what might have been a typical regulatory review into a high-stakes political and corporate showdown.
Critics, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, argued that a Paramount Skydance-WBD merger would create an antitrust "five-alarm fire" and raised alarms over political favoritism and foreign influence.
"If the president doesn't voluntarily recuse himself from a deal his own family is involved in, this could be a very long and bloody legal battle," Michael Tiberi, Executive Producer of "Swallowtail & Dragonfly", told Xinhua Monday.
Trump on Sunday expressed uncertainty about the Netflix deal, warning that the combined market share of Netflix and HBO -- owned by WBD -- "could be a problem." He said he planned to "be involved" in the regulatory process, an unusual declaration that signaled a potentially lengthy and politically charged review.
But at the same time, Trump also praised Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and avoided direct criticism of the company's merger plan on social media.
The landscape shifted again Monday morning when Paramount launched its bid directly to WBD shareholders. Minutes later, Trump criticized Paramount Skydance and CEO David Ellison -- a longtime Trump supporter -- for allowing "60 Minutes" to interview Trump's former ally Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Local outlets said it remains difficult to predict how Trump will navigate the emerging battle between Ellison and Sarandos. The Netflix executive has also built ties with Trump, including a dinner at Mar-a-Lago and a subsequent meeting in the Oval Office last month.
Trump later confirmed the meeting and praised Sarandos as a visionary leader, while again citing antitrust concerns about Netflix's expanding market position.
Netflix, the global streaming leader, reported 301.63 million subscribers in its most recent filing. WBD's HBO Max ranks fourth with 128 million subscribers. Netflix argued that competition from YouTube, TikTok and other global platforms prevents market dominance, and said its commitment to a 5.8-billion-U.S. dollar breakup fee, which it would pay to WBD if the acquisition fails to secure approval, demonstrates its confidence in regulatory permission.
The moment recalls 2016, when Trump opposed the AT&T-Time Warner merger, arguing that HBO and its parent company held excessive influence. That earlier dispute foreshadowed his readiness to weigh in on major media deals and his tendency to link regulatory decisions with personal grievances.
Influential MAGA figures, including Steve Bannon and Matt Gaetz, quickly echoed Trump's earlier arguments and called on him to block the Netflix-WBD merger.
WBD's board said it would review Paramount's offer but reaffirmed its endorsement of Netflix's bid, advising shareholders to "take no action." Netflix said it expected the merger with WBD to take 12 to 18 months, depending on regulatory and shareholder approvals.
Market reaction on Monday reflected the turmoil: Paramount shares rose 9.02 percent, WBD climbed 4.41 percent, and Netflix slid 3.44 percent. ■