President Donald Trump has raised antitrust concerns over Netflix’s planned $72 billion acquisition of Warner Bros., saying the combined market power “could be a problem” and signaling he intends to play a role in reviewing the deal.
Netflix announced the takeover on Friday, a move that would bring Warner Bros.’ film and TV studios, HBO, and HBO Max under its ownership in what would be the largest acquisition in the company’s history.
Speaking to reporters at the Kennedy Center on Sunday, Trump praised Netflix’s performance but warned that absorbing Warner Bros. would give the streaming giant a dominant market position. “They have a very big market share, and when they have Warner Brothers, you know, that share goes up a lot,” he said. “It could be a problem.”
Trump also revealed that Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos visited him in the Oval Office last week. He described Sarandos as a “great person” who has built “one of the greatest” entertainment companies but maintained that the scale of the merged entity would require scrutiny. “That’s going to be for some economists to tell,” he said, adding, “I’ll be involved in that decision, too.”
The deal has drawn criticism from competitors. Paramount CEO David Ellison reportedly raised objections during a visit to the White House last week, arguing the merger would violate antitrust principles. Paramount’s Skydance had been competing with Netflix and Comcast to acquire Warner Bros.
This is not the first time Trump has intervened in major media mergers. As president in 2017, he opposed AT&T’s bid to buy Time Warner, calling it harmful to the country.
Market reaction has been mixed. Netflix shares have fallen about 7% over the past five days, while Warner Bros.’ stock has climbed more than 8% as investors respond to the proposed takeover.
Officials from Netflix and Warner Bros. have not commented publicly on Trump’s remarks.
Netflix to buy Warner Bros film and streaming businesses for US$72bn
