Milan, 17 Dec. (LaPresse/AP) – Private equity firm Affinity Partners, owned by Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, has confirmed that it will no longer support Paramount's hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. The latter had agreed to be acquired by Netflix in early December, with Paramount responding by launching a competing bid that aims to bypass Warner's management and directly attract its shareholders by offering a higher price. Paramount's bid is $30 per Warner share, compared to Netflix's $27.75. Kushner's decision to withdraw his company's financial backing deprives Paramount of a possible advantage in the battle to win Donald Trump's support for the deal. The amount Affinity Partners would have contributed to the bid was not disclosed in Paramount's latest filings with the SEC. Warner is one of Hollywood's “big five” film studios and owns Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO, the DC Comics universe and the Harry Potter franchise. Experts say its acquisition could give the winning company a major boost and redefine the streaming war. Paramount, which is significantly smaller than Netflix, said its decision to bypass Warner's top brass came after they ‘never seriously pursued’ several previous offers from the company. Warner is considering Paramount's offer and is expected to tell shareholders soon whether it is a better deal than selling to Netflix.
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