WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump purchased more than $1.1 million worth of Netflix titles over the past three months as the streaming giant battled Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, according to government information.
Trump purchased more than US$500,000 in Netflix securities in two transactions on December 12th and 16th, and another US$600,000 in two other transactions on January 2nd and 20th, according to documents released by the government. The White House reported a range of values, rather than exact amounts, between just over $1.1 million and $2.25 million.
The acquisitions came as the Republican president and his regulatory officials criticized Netflix in the press, questioning whether the deal would withstand antitrust scrutiny and pressuring the company to fire board member Susan Rice, a former adviser to former Democratic President Barack Obama.
It is unclear whether Trump profited or lost money on the Netflix bonds, which paid an interest rate of 5.375% and mature in November 2029, as the document does not reveal if or when the president sold the assets.
Trump, like other US presidents, is exempt from conflict of interest laws that prohibit other executive branch officials from investing in companies doing business with the government. He is believed to have purchased the bonds through a trust fund run by his sons.
“President Trump’s assets are in a trust administered by his children,” said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly. ‘There are no conflicts of interest.’
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The deal, which would have left the combined company with about $85 billion in debt, immediately put pressure on Netflix’s bonds. They were trading at $1.03 and $1.04 at face value when Trump bought them on Dec. 12 and 16, and at $1.04 and $1.03 in his second round of purchases on Jan. 2 and 20, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Trump also purchased between $500,002 and $1 million in Warner Bros titles in two transactions on December 12 and 16. At the time, the bonds were traded at 91.75 cents on the dollar and 92 cents on the dollar. Now they are worth 95 cents. If he kept those roles, he would be ‘in the money’ now.
Days after Warner’s merger with Netflix was announced on December 5, Trump began to question the viability of the deal, telling journalists that the concentration of market power ‘could be a problem’.
Paramount, run by the son of Trump ally and Republican mega-donor Larry Ellison, made its hostile takeover bid public on December 8, setting off a bidding war between the two companies.
Netflix withdrew from the dispute after Paramount presented a US$110 billion offer about two weeks ago. The Paramount transaction will be financed by $39 billion in new debt provided by Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo, according to the companies’ Feb. 27 announcement.
The latest reports from the US Office of Government Ethics, dated February 27, were published online last week.
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Trump, a real estate investor, has previously declared more than $1 billion in assets. He maintains business interests spanning cryptocurrencies, golf clubs and other licensing agreements.
