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A political clash / The battle for the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Jared Kushner enters the field with Arab money

2025-12-09 22:36:23Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Jared Kushner and David Ellison

Jared Kushner is back at the center of one of the biggest corporate battles Hollywood has seen in recent years.

In the sudden and aggressive $108 billion cash offer that Paramount announced Monday to take control of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Kushner's wholly owned private equity firm, Affinity Partners, is listed as one of four outside financial partners involved in the deal.

His participation is hidden deep in the offering documents, where Paramount lists four investors – Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding, the Qatar Investment Authority and Kushner’s Affinity Partners – who would hold only non-voting shares, with no management rights or board seats.

This structure, according to the company, ensures that the transaction is not within the jurisdiction of CFIUS, the US committee that reviews the impact of foreign investments on national security.

Consequently, Paramount's offer aims to avoid one of the main regulatory hurdles that supposedly steered the WBD board towards an alternative deal with Netflix, which offered a package that did not include foreign capital.

The race for the WBD is getting tougher

Paramount and Netflix are expected to raise their bids. Paramount CEO David Ellison told CNBC that the $30-a-share offer is “neither the best nor the last.” Both companies are targeting one of the entertainment industry’s most valuable assets — WBD’s studios and streaming assets.

But the involvement of Kushner and Gulf investors has added strong political overtones to the operation, especially as the US administration and regulators face new pressure to review these deals in light of global economic rivalries.

Gulf capital and Kushner's role

Since leaving politics, Kushner has built deep financial relationships with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Emirates.

His fund has already injected billions from the region and has participated in major transactions, including the record $55 billion deal to take Electronic Arts off the stock exchange, where Affinity Partners took about 5% of the shares.

These financial ties are complemented by his diplomatic role in the Middle East. He was part of the administration's efforts for the Israel-Gaza ceasefire and maintains contacts from the time he negotiated the Abraham Accords.

Trump joins the battle

President Donald Trump, who has returned to office, has personally entered the debate over the WBD acquisition. He criticized the Netflix deal, saying it “could be a problem” because of the combined market power and said he would be involved in the review process.

Trump confirmed that he had met with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos in the Oval Office shortly before the deal was announced.

Meanwhile, Trump's stance on Paramount has been volatile. Just minutes after the hostile bid was released, he attacked Paramount management on a 60 Minutes segment, charging that the program was "even worse than before."

A clash with political overtones

The acquisition of WBD has become a duel that mixes global finance, political interests and the rivalries of the Silicon Valley and Hollywood elite. Paramount is run by David Ellison, the son of prominent Republican entrepreneur and donor Larry Ellison.

On the other hand, Netflix is ??supported by its traditional ties to Democratic figures, including co-founder Reed Hastings and diplomat Nicole Avant, Sarandos' wife.

As the clash intensifies, competition organizations, such as the American Economic Liberties Project, warn that neither deal is a good idea for consumers or the market.

“The president personally interfering in such an agreement is problematic, regardless of who the actors are,” wrote the organization’s leader, Nidhi Hegde.


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