Kushner’s Affinity Partners exits Paramount bid for Warner Bros. Discovery
Affinity Partners Founder and CEO Jared Kushner speaks during day two of the FII PRIORITY Summit at the Faena Hotel on February 20, 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Jared Kushner’s company Affinity Partners leaves Paramount Skydance‘s hostile takeover bid Warner Bros. discovery.
“With two strong competitors vying to secure the future of this unique American asset, Affinity has decided to no longer pursue this opportunity,” an Affinity spokesperson said in a statement.
“Investment dynamics have changed significantly since we became involved in October,” the spokesperson said. “We continue to believe there is a strong strategic rationale for Paramount’s offer.”
Kushner is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
Affinity’s role in Paramount’s hostile bid came to light on December 8, when Paramount announced a $30 per share cash offer for the entire WBC.
The offer comes days after streaming giant Netflix said it had reached that level. an agreement Acquiring WBD’s movie studio and streaming service HBO Max. Warner Bros. plans to launch Discovery Global, which includes a broad portfolio of pay-TV networks including CNN and TNT.
Trump said last week that Netflix’s proposed deal, which requires regulatory approval, “could be a problem” because of how much market share Netflix would have.
Trump said he would be involved in the approval process of the agreement.
The WB water tower will open on December 5, 2025 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. He is seen in their studio.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
The monetary value of Affinity’s role in Paramount’s bid was not disclosed in Paramount’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week.
But the SEC filing noted that in addition to commitments from Affinity and RedBird Capital Partners, there was a $1 billion commitment from Tencent and “a total commitment of $24 billion from three sovereign wealth funds” by Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
CNBC asked Affinity about the status of Gulf countries’ commitments in light of Affinity’s withdrawal from the tender.
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