Netflix Wanted to Buy Electronic Arts Before Warner Bros. Discovery
Paramount decided to enter the race with its own bid, allegedly promising Trump to change CNN if it wins.
Electronic Arts
The end of the year is filled with talks about acquisitions, with the biggest in the game industry being Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners buying Electronic Arts for $55 billion.
However, these were not the only companies that considered the deal. According to Bloomberg, Netflix thought about purchasing EA, Fox, or Disney before setting its sights on Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Its executives never agreed on it, afraid the deal would hurt their stock price by overpaying for one of such large companies.
These ideas were left behind, but now, the big news is Netflix acquiring WBD with its HBO Max and HBO assets for approximately $82.7 billion, $27.75 per WBD share. But in a dramatic turn of events, Paramount joined the bid and offered $30 per share.
Moreover, its CEO, David Ellison, promised over 30 theatrical releases per year if the acquisition goes through. "We’re going to satisfy the needs of the moviegoing public," he said.
Apparently, Ellison’s father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, told Trump that the Netflix transaction would hurt competition, according to The Wall Street Journal. His son then reportedly assured Trump's administration that if he bought Warner, he'd make changes to CNN, which is, let's say, not the president's best friend. Trump, in turn, allegedly said that he wants new ownership of CNN as well.
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