Paramount Skydance (PSKY) CEO David Ellison declined an invitation to testify before the Senate at an antitrust hearing about Netflix’s (NFLX) planned purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
Ellison, who started a hostile tender offer for Warner Bros., said he didn’t believe it would benefit him to appear before the panel, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, which cited people with knowledge of the hearing’ s arrangements.
Ellison told the committee that the Netflix (NFLX) deal is anticompetitive on its face, while a Paramount (PSKY) deal would fall below antitrust thresholds, according to the report. He would agree to offer written testimony and appear before the panel if the Netflix deal isn’t completed and the Paramount deal moves forward.
Netflix (NFLX) and Warner Bros. (WBD) executives are scheduled to testify before a Senate panel on Tuesday about Netflix’s planned $82.7 billion deal for the entertainment giant.
A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment on the invite to Bloomberg.