Netflix Inc. (NFLX) co-chief executive Ted Sarandos is planning to testify in February in front of a U.S. Senate committee that is scrutinizing the company’s $82.7B deal for the streaming and studio assets of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (WBD), Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
Bruce Campbell, the strategy chief at Warner Bros., is also planning to appear, sources told Bloomberg. Executives from Paramount Skydance Corp. (PSKY) aren’t expected to testify at the hearing.
While Netflix is expected to win the bidding war for Warner’s assets, its revised $27.75 per share all-cash offer is considered more complicated from an antitrust perspective due to the streaming giant’s dominant position in subscription video-on-demand across Europe.
Paramount, with strong ties to the current Trump administration, is not backing down and is relentlessly pursuing the HBO parent’s coveted assets through a $30 per share hostile takeover bid.
Senior executives from the David Ellison-run media company have held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and discussed with UK officials as part of a European charm offensive to gain support for their offer.
Even U.S. President Donald Trump recently voiced his support for a Paramount-Warner Bros. deal on his social media platform.
While Hollywood critics have expressed concerns about the impact of a Netflix-WBD deal, Sarandos, in an extensive interview published in The New York Times last week, reassured that the theatrical industry will not be impacted.