Trump says Warner Bros. deal should include sale of CNN

President Donald Trump said he will oppose any Warner Bros. Discovery deal that does not transfer CNN to new ownership, saying the network should be sold with the rest of the company and criticizing its current management; that stance adds a political wrinkle to competing bids. Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros.' TV and film studios and HBO for $27.75 a share while Warner plans to spin off cable channels including CNN in Q3 next year (to be led by CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels), and Paramount Skydance is pursuing a $30-per-share tender for the entire company that would include CNN. David Ellison — whose father Larry Ellison is a Trump supporter and whose bid has reported ties to Jared Kushner — has urged investors to back his offer as higher value and more likely to clear regulators; Trump has met with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, has not endorsed a bidder publicly and said he may become involved in the regulatory review.

Analysis

President Trump publicly stated he will oppose any Warner Bros. Discovery transaction that does not transfer CNN to new ownership, criticizing current CNN management and saying the network should be sold along with the rest of the company. Netflix has agreed to acquire Warner Bros. TV and film studios and HBO for $27.75 a share while Warner Bros. plans to spin off cable channels including CNN in the third quarter of next year under CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels; Paramount Skydance has made a competing $30-per-share tender that would include CNN.

David Ellison has directly solicited investors, arguing his offer provides higher value and a clearer regulatory path, and reporting ties to influential figures (Larry Ellison and Jared Kushner) plus meetings between Trump and Netflix leadership add political variables to the review. Trump said he may become involved in the regulatory review, which raises the probability that political preferences — not just antitrust analysis — will affect the eventual structure or approval timeline.

Market signals reflect elevated uncertainty: overall sentiment is moderately negative while market impact is material, and per-ticker scores show modest positive bias for WBD (0.2), negative pressure on NFLX (−0.5) and stronger positive for PSKY (0.6). The key near-term drivers are investor support for the tender, regulatory statements from the White House or agencies, and adherence to the planned Q3 spin-off timetable; each could materially reprice all three tickers.

Key Decisions for Investors

• For WBD holders, avoid increasing exposure until the tender vote and the Q3 spin-off progress are clearer and consider event-driven arbitrage between the Netflix $27.75 and Paramount $30 bids
• For NFLX investors, consider trimming or hedging positions given the negative sentiment and increased political scrutiny that could complicate the Netflix transaction
• For PSKY or activist-oriented investors, prioritize monitoring tender support, financing disclosures and any regulatory signaling since Paramount’s $30 bid plus reported political links raises upside if regulatory risk is resolved
• Monitor concrete triggers — Trump’s public involvement, regulatory filings, investor letters and the spin-off execution timeline — and use those events as clear entry or exit signals