Netflix CEO Sarandos visited White House before WBD offer pulled

netflix CEO Ted Sarandos visited the White House on Thursday afternoon for a meeting about his company’s efforts to buy some of the stock. Warner Bros. Discovery – shortly before Netflix announced it was terminating the deal.

Sarandos was not expected to meet with President Donald Trump, who days ago demanded that Netflix remove former Obama administration official Susan Rice from its board “or suffer the consequences.”

Trump’s threat referenced right-wing influencer Laura Loomer’s call to “end the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger immediately.”

Loomer noted Rice’s comments predicting that the institutions that appeased Trump would be held “accountable” once Democrats came back to power.

“This meeting is not with POTUS,” a White House official told CNBC. “Netflix is ​​meeting with staff at the White House,” the official said.

After Sarandos arrived at the White House, WBD released a statement: Paramount SkydanceThe company’s new offer to buy the entire company appeared to be a “superior offer” to Netflix’s offer.

Under the terms of the agreement with WBD, Netflix had four business days to refine its offer.

However, after Sarandos left the White House, Netflix released a statement pulling the plug on the deal entirely.

“The transaction we negotiated would create shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval,” Netflix said.

“However, we have always been disciplined and a deal at the price required to match Paramount Skydance’s latest offer is no longer financially attractive, so we decline to match the Paramount Skydance offer.”