Netflix CEO Sarandos to visit White House for WBD deal talks: Report

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos will head to the White House on Thursday for meetings on his company’s efforts to acquire part of Warner Bros. Discovery as Paramount ratchets up its rival bid, Politico reported Wednesday.

The reported visit is set to occur five days after President Donald Trump demanded that Netflix immediately fire former Obama administration official Susan Rice from its board, or else “pay the consequences.”

It was not immediately clear if Sarandos would be meeting with Trump during the visit, a person familiar with the discussions told Politico.

Netflix declined CNBC’s request for comment on the report. The White House, asked by CNBC to confirm the visit, said, “We do not discuss private meetings that may or may not be happening.”

The acquisition fight over WBD, like numerous other business deals in over the past year, has been entangled with presidential politics.

Trump had weeks earlier said he would stay out of the multibillion-dollar bidding war between Netflix, which wants to buy WBD’s studio and streaming brands, and Paramount, which seeks to acquire WBD’s whole business.

But Trump appeared to change course when, in a Truth Social post on Saturday afternoon, he demanded that Netflix fire Rice from its board, calling her “racist” and a “political hack.”

Trump on Truth Social linked to an X post from Laura Loomer, a far-right media figure in Trump’s orbit, slamming Rice and urging the president to “kill the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger now.”

Loomer’s post highlighted a recent podcast appearance in which Rice, who has served in the Obama, Clinton and Biden administrations, predicted that corporations and other institutions that appeased Trump will be held “accountable” when his political opposition regains power.

The WBD deal proposals have raised antitrust concerns. The Department of Justice is investigating whether Netflix’s proposed deal could hurt competition.

Other dynamics have fueled speculation that politics are part of the acquisition fight.

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison is the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest men and a Republican megadonor.

David Ellison was a guest of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a Trump loyalist, at the president’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

Paramount most recently raised its bid for Warner Bros. to an all-cash $31 per share, which could “reasonably be expected” to top Netflix’s offer, WBD said Tuesday.

This is developing news. Please check back for updates.