Jared Kushner has unexpectedly appeared in the intense dispute between Paramount and Netflix, supported by Substantial Saudi investment and having recently finalized another significant agreement.

Axios first reported the involvement of Saudi and Gulf investment.

The specifics are contained within Paramount's tender offer, where Paramount identifies “the Public Investment Fund (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), L’imad Holding Company PJSC (Abu Dhabi), Qatar Investment Authority (Qatar) and Affinity Partners (Jared Kushner)” as stakeholders who would, should the transaction be finalized, possess non-voting ownership stakes and relinquish control privileges, such as positions on the board. 

The submission further indicates that since these financiers are organized without such entitlements, “the Transaction will not be within CFIUS’s jurisdiction,” referencing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Accounts have proposed that WBD’s leadership selected Netflix’s agreement because it contained no international funding elements and consequently encountered no difficulties with CFIUS, a remarkably obscure and influential regulatory instrument that the administration can utilize to prevent contentious business combinations.

Both Paramount and Netflix are likely to increase their offers. David Ellison said on CNBC that he told the CEO of Warner Bro’s, David Zaslav, that $30 per share wasn’t the company’s best and final offer.

Kushner’s Middle Eastern ties

Kushner's involvement mirrors a wider trend: since departing public service, his company has secured billions from investors in the Gulf and engaged in substantial private deals utilizing capital from that same area. Last September, his company partnered with Silver Lake and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund for the $55 billion agreement to take Electronic Arts private, which stands as the biggest private-equity acquisition ever recorded. 

The Wall Street Journal reporting indicates that Kushner facilitated a connection between Silver Lake and PIF executives earlier in the year as talks concerning an EA acquisition intensified. Affinity Partners eventually acquired approximately a 5% share in the deal, alongside Silver Lake and PIF, who provided the bulk of the equity funding. This EA transaction represented the initial instance of Kushner’s investment firm participating in a significant international technology acquisition of that magnitude, and it included the same Middle Eastern financiers now involved in Paramount's funding arrangement.

Kushner has also continued his involvement in the Middle East political diplomacy, extending beyond financial matters. He contributed significantly to the administration's recent Israel-Gaza peace initiative, enlisted due to his prior engagement in brokering the Abraham Accords during Trump’s initial tenure, which forged diplomatic connections between Israel and various Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia. The Gulf nation is progressively becoming more accessible, particularly to Western enterprises, as evidenced by Barclays’ confirmation in late October at the Coins2Day Global Forum in Riyadh, where it announced its decision to move its regional headquarters to that location. In a separate discussion at the Coins2Day Global Forum, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid A. Al-Falih spoke about the advancements taking place under Vision 2030, the kingdom's economic reform strategy, which is approximately nine years in duration. He indicated that he views 2025 as a “pivotal moment,” when “the very foundations of global business are being shaken, in a way, and being rewritten before our own eyes.”

The transaction acquired new political aspects throughout the weekend, as President Donald Trump voiced his opinion regarding Netflix's pact to purchase WBD's studio and streaming holdings. Addressing journalists on Sunday, Trump said the Netflix–WBD arrangement “could be a problem” due to the consolidated entities' market dominance, and indicated his anticipation of participating in the oversight proceedings. He further verified a meeting with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos at the Oval Office not long before Netflix declared the agreement, stating Sarandos had expressed “no guarantees” concerning the business arrangement. 

Trump did not confirm the scoop by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw, who wrote in his influential entertainment newsletter that Sarandos has been wooing Trump since late November, when he visited Mar-A-Lago. Trump did indicate, however, that he has a good relationship with the Netflix leader, calling Sarandos a “fantastic man” who had played a major role in building Netflix into such a great company. Netflix executives expressed great confidence in regulatory approval on Friday’s call with analysts about their deal, worth $72 billion in equity and about $83 billion including the assumption of debt.

The political plot thickens

The political undertones of the dispute are certainly worth mentioning. Paramount was recently purchased by David Ellison, son of long-standing Republican contributor Larry Ellison, whom Trump designated as one of several American billionaires to oversee the U.S. Holdings of TikTok. (Bloomberg's Shaw indicated that Sarandos had expressed interest in the Paramount studio prior to Ellison's acquisition.) Concurrently, Sarandos is wed to Nicole Avant, who served as ambassador to the Bahamas during the Obama presidency. Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings is a prominent and longtime Democratic donor, though Hastings currently holds the position of non-executive chairman at Netflix and has been focused on his Powder Mountain resort in Utah, was acquired shortly after Coins2Day’s profile of the resort in 2023.

Paramount specifically asserted that its own offer presents reduced regulatory challenges compared to Netflix’s. In its submission, the corporation maintains that the Netflix arrangement encounters substantial antitrust obstacles, encompassing a prolonged period for regulatory examination. Paramount further highlights that its external funding—owing to its non-voting nature—does not necessitate CFIUS review, thereby removing an extra obstacle of national security oversight.

Trump's stance concerning Paramount, however, has been varied. Approximately twenty minutes after Paramount initiated its unsolicited bid, Trump directly faulted Paramount's leadership during a 60 Minutes broadcast that included Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, writing on Truth Social stating it was “NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP.” Trump further commented that “since they [Paramount] bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten WORSE!” CBS News and 60 Minutes, in line with standard practice for media outlets, assert their editorial autonomy from their proprietors. Paramount resolved a legal action initiated by Trump regarding a specific 60 Minutes incident throughout the 2024 election cycle, paying $16 million in July 2025, not long before Ellison’s takeover won regulator approval.

Separately on Monday, Larry Ellisontold CNBC that he has had “great conversations” with Trump about the WBD bid, without elaborating. 

Nidhi Hegde, who leads the American Economic Liberties Project, commented on X following Ellison’s statements, indicating that “the correct option is neither Paramount nor Netflix buy Warner.”

“The president inserting himself in the deal is obviously problematic, regardless of the parties involved,” said Hegde. 

[Disclosure: one of the author’s worked at Netflix from June 2024 through July 2025.]