While Netflix is projecting confidence its agreement to acquire the valuable Warner Brothers studios will hold with investors and clear government regulators, the president's cozy relationship with Paramount is being seen as a wild card that could help its chances for a hostile takeover.
"This should be about an anti-trust assessment, not what the administration likes or wants, though we've seen this president exert control over the agencies under his authority," said Jennifer Rie, a senior litigation analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
"We've also seen this president flip-flop on these things. It's about who has his ear at the time and who he sees as his ally," Rie added.
Trump seemed to signal some hesitation initially about approving Netflix's $70 billion agreement to acquire Warner Bros., saying the streamer has "a very big market share," which he told reporters "could be a problem."
How Trump's government regulators would scrutinize such a megadeal was already a point of focus in the weeks leading up to its announcement.
Either way, the deal would create one of the largest entertainment companies on earth and is certain to face intense questions from lawmakers and federal authorities about competitiveness and fair market share.
Already carrying some 300 million paid subscribers globally, Netflix is only interested in acquiring Warner Brothers' sprawling movie and TV studios.
Its bid was accepted after weeks of lobbying in Washington, which included direct appeals to Trump by Netflix's chief executive, Ted Sarandos.
Paramount, which also leaned heavily on Trump to support its bid, initiated a hostile takeover after the announcement of the Netflix deal, which would cover not just Warner Brothers' studios, but the entire company. This would also include Discovery, CNN and TNT Sports, among other properties.
The Hill's Dominick Mastrangelo has more here.
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