Trump the middleman in battle for Warner

Ted Sarandos, the co-CEO of Netflix, made a stealthy visit to the Oval Office in November, chatting with President Donald Trump as his company prepared an audacious bid to buy Warner Bros. and HBO.

- Michael M. Grynbaum

US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at the Kennedy Centre Honours in Washington on Sunday.

(Valerie Plesch/The New)

It went well enough that Trump was soon praising Sarandos as “fantastic” and comparing him to legendary Hollywood mogul Louis B. Mayer.

On Sunday night, David Ellison, the chair of Paramount Skydance, which is bidding against Netflix, had his chance to make his case face-to-face. Ellison was spotted in the presidential box with Trump at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in Washington.

Hours later, Ellison unveiled a hostile bid to block Netflix’s acquisition — and, in the fine print, revealed his version of a trump card: A private equity firm founded by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is on board as an investor in the deal.

Presidents are not supposed to influence the regulators who review major corporate deals, a process traditionally carried out at arm’s length from politicians’ whims.

But with the future of the news and entertainment industries in the balance, Trump, himself a film and TV connoisseur, has broken precedent by placing himself directly in the middle of the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery, the biggest media deal of the decade. And both Netflix and Paramount are paying attention.

“I’ll be involved in that decision,” a tuxedoed Trump told reporters as he posed for pictures on the red carpet of the Kennedy Center Honours on Sunday.