Dec. 8 (UPI) — President Donald Trump suggested Sunday night that the $82.7 billion merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery may face difficulties being completed.
As it is subject to regulatory approval, the merger has “to go through a process, and we’ll see what happens,” a black bow-tie-clad Trump told reporters Sunday night from the red carpet of the Kenned Center Honors in Washington, D.C.
“Netflix is a great company. They’ve done a phenomenal job,” he said. “But it’s a lot of market share, so, we’ll have to see what happens.”
Asked if Netflix should be allowed to buy Warner Bros., Trump responded: “Well, that’s the question.”
“They have a very big market share and when they have Warner Bros., you know, that share goes up a lot. So, I don’t know,” he said. “That’s going to be for some economists to tell.”
“And, also, I’ll be involved in that decision, too.”
Streaming giant Netflix announced the deal on Friday.
It is seeking to acquire Warner Bros., including its film and television studios, HBO Max and HBO. The deal has a total enterprise value of about $82.7 billion, with an equity value of $72 billion.
The streaming giant said it expects the transaction to be completed in Q3 2026, after the separation of Warner Bros. Discovery’s Discovery Global into a new publicly traded company.
“Our mission has always been to entertain the world,” Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, said Friday in a statement.
To reporters Sunday, Trump, with his wife, first lady Melania Trump, by his side, described Sarandos as a “fantastic man” who “I have a lot of respect for.”
He also said that he met with Sarandos last week ahead of the Netflix announcement in the Oval Office.
He didn’t go into specifics about what was said, but stated that Sarandos did not make him any promises in connection with the merger.
“He’s done one of the greatest jobs in the history of movies and other things,” Trump said. “But it is a big market share. There’s no question about it.”
Netflix says it has more than 300 million paid memberships in more than 190 countries.
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