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Kushner-linked firm exits Paramount’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery
Exit reshapes takeover contest as Warner weighs rival bids from Paramount and Netflix
Jared Kushner’s private equity firm has stepped away from financing Paramount’s unsolicited takeover attempt of Warner Bros. Discovery, reducing the bidder’s political and financial leverage in a closely watched contest that could reshape the global media industry.
Affinity Partners, the investment firm founded by Kushner, who is the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, confirmed on Tuesday that it will no longer support Paramount’s hostile bid for Warner. The decision comes shortly after Warner agreed to be acquired by Netflix in a deal announced earlier this month.
Paramount entered the fray with a higher cash offer, proposing to buy Warner shares at $30 each, above Netflix’s agreed price of $27.75, while deliberately bypassing Warner’s leadership and appealing directly to shareholders. The company said this approach was taken after repeated attempts to engage with Warner’s management failed to produce meaningful discussions.
In pulling its backing, Affinity Partners said the circumstances surrounding the transaction had changed materially since it first became involved. While the firm maintained that Paramount’s offer still has strategic logic, it chose not to continue pursuing the opportunity. Paramount’s latest regulatory filings did not specify how much capital Affinity had committed to the bid.
The withdrawal is notable given the regulatory scrutiny expected for any major media consolidation under the Trump administration. Paramount has positioned its proposal as more likely to clear antitrust review, arguing that a Netflix–Warner combination could raise competition concerns due to scale and market dominanc, an issue Trump has publicly flagged.
Despite losing Kushner’s support, Paramount’s bid remains backed by sovereign wealth funds from three Gulf nations, widely reported to include Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Paramount controls major media assets including CBS, MTV and the Paramount+ streaming service and is currently led by David Ellison.
The bid has unfolded against a politically sensitive backdrop, with Trump recently criticising the Ellison family over coverage by CBS News’ 60 Minutes, adding another layer of complexity to the transaction. Warner, which owns Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO, DC Comics and the Harry Potter franchise, is reviewing Paramount’s proposal and is expected to inform shareholders whether it represents a superior alternative to Netflix’s agreed acquisition.
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