President Donald Trump added more Netflix bonds to his financial portfolio, totaling up to $1.25 million, amid the streamer’s bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery.
According to financial disclosures released by the White House Wednesday, the president bought two tranches of Netflix bonds. The first was purchased on Jan. 2 and valued between $500,001 to $1,000,000. The second tranche was valued between $100,001 and $250,000 and purchased on Jan. 20, tallying the president’s new investments in the company between $600,002 and $1.25 million.
The recent financial disclosure was signed by the president Feb. 26, the same day Netflix withdrew its offer to acquire WBD.
The Netflix bond purchases were two of the president’s 83 transactions made in the month of January. Trump also purchased two tranches of SiriusXM bonds, totaling between $600,002 and $1.25 million.
Trump also acquired municipal bonds, and corporate bonds from companies like General Motors, Occidental, Boeing, Victoria’s Secret and Coreweave, among many others.
The president had previously acquired up to $1 million worth of corporate bonds issued by both Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery in December, according to a Jan. 14 financial disclosure.
Trump did not acquire additional bonds of WBD in his January transactions, according to the disclosure.
Trump’s investments in Netflix are of interest as they came amid the fight for WBD, and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos pulled out of the bidding war the same day Trump filed his financial disclosure.
Sarandos was in Washignton, D.C. last Thursday, the day the streamer backed out, for a series of meetings to discuss Netflix’s $83 billion deal for Warner Bros.’ studio and streaming assets. While he met with the Department of Justice in the morning, an individual with knowledge of the executive’s trip told TheWrap that his scheduled White House meeting that afternoon never happened.
Netflix decided not to raise its $83 billion bid, conceding to Paramount’s mammoth $111 billion bid, giving the entertainment giant $31 per share for the entirety of WBD, including its linear channels.
Netflix subsequently walked away from the deal with a $2.8 billion break-up fee from PSKY.
