In the days following the announcement of Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery’s $83 billion merger deal for the latter’s streaming and studio assets, President Donald Trump loaded up on corporate bonds from both companies.
A new financial disclosure from the White House, which is dated Jan. 14, reveals that Trump acquired up to $1 million worth corporate bonds issued by each company in December.
Per the filing,Trump acquired two tranches of Netflix bonds, which are set to mature in November 2029. The first purchase, valued between $250,001-$500,000, was made on Dec. 12, while the second purchase, valued between $250,001-$500,000 was made on Dec. 16.
He also acquired two tranches of Discovery Communications LLC, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery, which are set to mature in 2030. The first purchase, valued at $250,001-$500,000, was made on Dec. 12, while the second purchase, valued between $250,001-$500,000 was made on Dec. 16.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery announced the cash-and-stock deal on Dec. 5, which consists of $23.25 per share in cash and a target of $4.50 in stock, subject to a collar. As Netflix stock has fallen below the collar, the streamer is also considering shifting its offer to a simpler all-cash deal.
Paramount is seeking to thwart the merger with a $108.4 billion tender offer, which is currently set to expire on Jan. 21 at 5 p.m. ET, though its legal team said that would be extended after a Delaware judge dismissed its motion to expedite proceedings in its lawsuit against Warner Bros. Discovery.
Ellison has accused WBD’s board of withholding key information about how it valued the streamer’s deal and the proposed cable network spinoff Discovery Global, which it says “deprive stockholders of the ability to evaluate the real risk of a decrease in financial consideration or meaningfully compare Netflix’s offer to Paramount’s all-cash offer.” As of Dec. 19, less than 400,000 WBD shares had been validly tendered to Paramount Skydance.
In addition to the lawsuit, Ellison is threatening a proxy battle aimed at replacing WBD’s board of directors with its own slate of candidates to engage further with its offer. Paramount would also propose an amendment to Warner’s bylaws that would require shareholder approval of the Discovery Global spinoff.
Paramount and Netflix are currently engaging with regulators, including the Department of Justice and the European Commission. The former has said a potential deal would close within a year, while the streamer has said its deal would close in 12 to 18 months.
Though Trump has not formally taken any side, he said he would be involved in approval of any decision for a potential Warner Bros. Discovery merger and has called for CNN to be sold to a new owner as part of any deal.
In December, Trump knocked CBS’ new owners for the news division’s coverage of his administration. But he also shared a story on Truth Social earlier this week calling for a Netflix merger to be blocked and has previously said he would need to look at how a merger would impact both company’s market shares.
In response to the Trump post, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told the New York Times: “I don’t know why he would have done that. No conversation we ever had was about any of the things that were in that article that he posted. I don’t want to overread it, either.”
Shareholders are expected to vote on the Netflix deal in late spring or early summer. Warner Bros. Discovery has not yet set a date for its 2026 annual meeting. A threshold of just 20% of WBD shareholders who have held the stock for at least a year would be needed to call a special meeting before then.
