Will Netflix’s $82.7 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. get approval from federal regulators?

Whereas Paramount was assumed to be the frontrunner to amass the storied film studio because of CEO David Ellison’s connections to the Trump administration, new reporting in Bloomberg and The Hollywood Reporter means that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos met with President Donald Trump to debate a possible deal in November.

Trump reportedly informed Sarandos that Warner Bros. ought to promote to the very best bidder, and the Netflix govt appears to have left the assembly satisfied that the president wouldn’t instantly oppose the acquisition.

Bloomberg additionally stories that Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav was reluctant to promote the corporate and stunned when Paramount started to discover an acquisition — if nothing else, he’d anticipated Ellison to attend till the studio accomplished a deliberate break up of its film and streaming companies from its cable networks.

In the end, Warner Bros. mentioned it might think about different bids, resulting in a aggressive course of that Netflix gained — though Paramount may nonetheless hold its hat within the ring with a hostile bid.