Letter to The Editor: Saudi Arabia

Dear Editor,

Do you think the Saudi Arabian government should decide what movies are made or not at Warner Bros? Judd Legum from Popular Information noted, Paramount announced a $77.9 billion hostile takeover offer of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), an American media conglomerate that owns an iconic movie studio, HBO, and other news and entertainment properties. The offer is meant to upend Netflix’s deal to purchase Warner Bros. for $72 billion, which WBD already accepted.
Paramount’s announcement of the offer says that $40 billion in equity financing will be used from the Ellison family and RedBird Capital. The CEO of Paramount is David Ellison-who just purchased CBS. The rest of the cash for the purchase, $24 billion- will come from the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar. $24 billion is a massive investment by foreign governments on Paramount’s behalf. To put it in perspective, the current value of Paramount is just $15 billion.
Also participating in the deal is Affinity Partners, the private equity firm run by President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Nearly all of Affinity Partners’ assets come from the sovereign wealth funds bankrolling the proposed Paramount takeover of WBD. Kushner collects tens of millions in fees from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries annually. Jared Kushner has been paid at least $112 million in fees since 2021 by Saudi Arabia. Do you think they are seeking to expand their political, and economic interests in the US? Paramount and Middle East governments will then be able to decide which movies and shows get made or canceled, they can approve or deny projects at Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO, Cartoon Network, etc. You might want to write to your Congressman and Senator today and yell “STOP THE PARAMOUNT TAKEOVER!”

Joan Reading
Union Dale