Netflix CEO Sarandos says he bailed on WBD because of price, not Trump

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company dropped out of the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding because it did not want to pay more. "I still believe in all the positives. I just believed in them up to $27.75 a share," he told Bloomberg, referring to the price Netflix originally agreed to pay in December.

Sarandos visited the White House on Thursday and Netflix announced its withdrawal shortly afterward, but he said the meeting had nothing to do with the decision. "It was a very productive meeting, nothing out of the ordinary," he said, adding that the president "stayed completely neutral on this." Netflix decided to bow out earlier that day after WBD said Paramount's latest bid was a "superior proposal." Some observers pointed to the Ellisons' courting of President Trump — David Ellison attended the State of the Union as the guest of Sen.

Lindsay Graham — as a possible factor.

United States, Washington, D.C.

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