By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos arrived at the White House on Thursday for meetings related to the company’s bid to purchase portions of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), according to CNBC.
The visit came shortly before Warner Bros. Discovery issued a statement indicating that a new bid from Paramount Skydance to acquire the entirety of WBD appeared to be a “superior proposal.”
A White House official told CNBC that Sarandos was not expected to meet with President Donald Trump.
“This meeting is not with POTUS,” the official said, adding “Netflix is meeting with staff members at the White House."
The meeting also follows recent comments from Trump, who days earlier publicly called on Netflix to remove former national security adviser Susan Rice from its board of directors or "pay the consequences."
In December, Netflix announced plans to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s movie studio, along with HBO and the HBO Max streaming service, in a deal valued at $72 billion.
At the same time, Paramount Skydance submitted a rival bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, including its cable television networks.