Trump says Netflix, WBD deal could be problem

President Donald Trump expressed doubts about this on Sunday night. netflix‘s recommended purchase Warner Bros. Discovery’s partsHe said the massive deal “could be a problem” because of how much market share Netflix would have.

Trump also said he would be involved in the ratification process of the agreement announced on Friday.

Streaming giant Netflix needs regulatory approval as it plans to acquire WBD’s movie studio and streaming properties, including HBO Max. The enterprise value of the deal is approximately $83 billion.

On Monday, Paramount said Skydance had launched a hostile bid to buy all of WBD after losing out to Netflix. Paramount CEO David Ellison’s billionaire father, Larry Ellison, is close to Trump.

“We’ve had great conversations with the president about this, but I don’t want to speak on his behalf,” David Ellison told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” Monday morning.

Asked Monday afternoon about Paramount’s offer, Trump said he knew nothing about it.

He also said he wanted to see the market percentages of rival companies; This signaled that the size of the media giant that would emerge from the agreement was an important factor for him.

“None of them are very good friends of mine,” Trump said.

Paramount revealed in a filing Securities and Exchange Commission It is stated that his offer was supported by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, a former White House advisor.

Trump claimed he was unaware of Kushner’s relationship with Paramount.

The application also stated that other external financing partners include investment funds from three Gulf countries: Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

The filing stated that Kushner’s firm, Affinity Partners and the Gulf funds “agreed to relinquish any management rights, including board representation, with respect to equity investments that do not require voting rights.”

“Accordingly, the Transaction will not fall within the jurisdiction of CFIUS.” The filing referred to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.Examining such investments.

“Well, that’s the question,” Trump said Sunday when asked if WBD would be allowed to sign with Netflix.

“They have a very large market share,” the president said, referring to Netflix.

“And when they own Warner Brothers, you know, that share gets a lot bigger,” Trump told reporters on the red carpet before an event at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

“So I don’t know, some economists will say that,” Trump said. “I will be involved in this decision.”

Trump said Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos made no guarantees about the merger when he visited the Oval Office last week.

“He’s a great person,” Trump said of Sarandos. “He’s done some of the greatest work in the history of movies and stuff, and there’s a lot of interesting things going on besides what you mentioned.”

“But it’s a big market share. There’s no doubt about it,” Trump said. “There might be a problem.”

A senior Trump administration official told CNBC on Friday that the administration views the deal with “heavy skepticism.”

The proposed acquisition has raised antitrust concerns from lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who said it “looks like an anti-monopoly nightmare.”

Paramount warned WBD’s lawyers in a recent letter that the sale to Netflix would likely “never be completed” due to regulatory challenges in the U.S. and abroad, The Wall Street Journal reported. reported.

Comcast had also sought to acquire WBD’s film and broadcast assets.

In addition to selling these assets to Paramount, WBD also plans to spin off Discovery Global, which will include CNN, TNT Sports and Discovery channels.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become CNBC’s new parent company, based on Comcast’s planned Versant spinoff.