The News
In back-to-back salvos Tuesday, the President and his family distanced themselves from Paramount’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery — a rebuke to owner David Ellison’s attempt to leverage relationships with the White House to close the $108 billion takeover effort.
President Trump Tuesday afternoon said he had been “treated [...] far worse” by the Ellison-owned CBS since the family closed on a deal for CBS parent Paramount. “If they are friends, I’d hate to see my enemies!”
Less than two hours after that message, Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners said it was backing out of the Paramount-led bidding consortium, which also includes three Gulf sovereign wealth funds and Apollo.
“With two strong competitors vying to secure the future of this unique American asset, Affinity has decided no longer to pursue the opportunity,” a spokesperson for the firm said. “The dynamics of the investment have changed significantly since we initially became involved in October. We continue to believe there is a strong strategic rationale for Paramount’s offer.”
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Rohan’s view
Kushner’s withdrawal could threaten another pillar of the Paramount bid: Loose commitments from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar, which traditionally mix their investments with geopolitics.
Warner’s board had already raised questions about their solidity , and an expensive deal that lacks the Trump family’s seal of approval may be less appealing in the Gulf.
Room for Disagreement
Trump is always looking for opportunities to create leverage, and few mergers will offer as much influence over public discourse as the fate of a mega-studio and still-influential cable network. As with Nippon Steel’s deal for US Steel, or Norfolk Southern’s planned marriage with Union Pacific, the President is keenly attuned to making sure he can extract every concession possible from any courtier.