Washington Trip Fails To Save Netflix Bid

Netflix thinks Paramount is “overpaying” and will not match their bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, the company announced Thursday.

It comes after Co-CEO Ted Sarandos flew to Washington on Thursday for meetings at the White House and the Department of Justice to discuss the state of the deal. A person familiar with discussions granted anonymity to speak candidly called the visit “a vibe check.”

Warner Bros. Discovery’s board on Thursday labeled a revamped bid from Paramount Skydance a “superior proposal,” triggering a four-day window for Netflix to match the offer or lose the deal. “The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval,” Netflix said in a statement Thursday. “However, we’ve always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid.”

Sarandos met with top regulators at DOJ for over an hour on Thursday – including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Acting Assistant Attorney General of Antitrust Omeed Assefi.

Behind closed doors, Sarandos sought assurances that Netflix would get a fair, by-the-book review as the company’s potential bid for Warner Bros. Discovery was pulled deeper into Washington’s political crosscurrents, according to the person familiar with the discussions.

DOJ regulators assured Sarandos the probe would be fair.

Sarandos’ trip came amid a deeper source of tension: President Donald Trump’s push for Netflix to fire board member Susan Rice, an adviser to former President Joe Biden and U.N. ambassador under former President Barack Obama – a demand some inside the company viewed as a loyalty test.

According to the person familiar, Sarandos felt pressure to keep pace with Paramount CEO David Ellison, whose family has been widely perceived as close to Trump. That dynamic, the person said, drove Sarandos’ decision to make the Washington trip and seek face time as the bidding war intensified.

In December, Netflix agreed to buy Warner Bros. for $27.75 a share, or roughly $83 billion, in an all cash deal for Warner Bros. streaming & studios business. Paramount escalated the bidding war this week, lobbing a rival $31 per share bid for the entire company.

“They think Paramount is overpaying,” said a second person familiar with the discussions, granted anonymity to discuss the deal, confirming that Netflix will not match or beat the bid.