Jared Kushner’s private equity firm says it is dropping out of the group of firms that planned to back Paramount Skydance’s hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
“With two strong competitors vying to secure the future of this unique American asset, Affinity has decided no longer to pursue the opportunity,” a spokesperson for the company led by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law said in a statement to NBC News.
“The dynamics of the investment have changed significantly since we initially became involved in October,” the firm said. “We continue to believe there is a strong strategic rationale for Paramount’s offer.”
On Dec. 8, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison said he was launching a more than $108 billion unsolicited takeover offer for all of the media giant Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets.
That came just days after Netflix and WBD announced a separate deal, under which Netflix would acquire the most valuable parts of Warner. Those assets include the HBO Max streaming service, HBO network and Warner Bros. film studios.
But Paramount’s hostile offer was for the entire company, and backed by the wealth of Ellison’s father, Larry Ellison, who is chairman and majority shareholder of Oracle.
The Paramount bid also featured funding commitments from Kushner’s Affinity Partners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Qatar Investment Authority and a large Abu Dhabi-based fund.
The news that Kushner’s fund was dropping out of the group of funds prepared to support Ellison and Paramount Skydance came shortly after multiple reports that Warner Bros. was preparing to reject Paramount’s bid as soon as Wednesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump expressed his displeasure with David Ellison on Truth Social.
“For those people that think I am close with the new owners of CBS, please understand that 60 Minutes has treated me far worse since the so-called ‘takeover,’ than they have ever treated me before,” Trump wrote. “If they are friends, I’d hate to see my enemies!”
Any deal between Warner Bros. and Paramount Skydance will likely need to be cleared by the Justice Department’s antitrust division and Federal Trade Commission.
Paramount, WBD and Netflix did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
