Jared Kushner‘s Affinity Partners investment firm is no longer part of Paramount Skydance‘s acquisition bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, Variety has confirmed.
Affinity Partners said in a statement to Bloomberg, which first reported the news: “With two strong competitors vying to secure the future of this unique American asset, Affinity has decided no longer to pursue the opportunity. We continue to believe there is a strong strategic rationale for Paramount’s offer.” Variety has reached out to Affinity Partners for additional info
Kushner is married to Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President Donald Trump.
Paramount, led by chairman and CEO David Ellison, has launched a hostile takeover attempt for the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery. That came after Netflix inked a deal with WBD to buy the Warner Bros. studios and HBO Max, in a deal with an enterprise value of $82.7 billion.
Paramount Skydance’s $30/share bid for Warner Bros. Discovery was being backed by Affinity Partners, the investment firm founded by Kushner. In addition, in prior communications to the Paramount team, WBD’s board had expressed concerns that Paramount’s Dec. 1 bid — backed by the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, as first reported by Variety — would trigger a problematic national security review by the U.S. government because of the foreign investors.
Paramount said in an SEC filing last week that the three Arab wealth funds and Kushner’s Affinity “agreed to forgo any governance rights — including board representation — associated with their non-voting equity investments.” Now, Affinity is no longer part of the bid.
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Warner Bros. Discovery’s board is formally reviewing the latest Paramount bid; the company is expected to reject the latest $30/share offer. At that point, it remains to be seen whether the Ellisons and their remaining financing partners will return with a higher bid and, if so, whether Netflix will make a counteroffer.
From Variety US