The purchases came as the Republican president and his regulators blasted Netflix in the press, questioning whether the deal would pass antitrust scrutiny and pressuring Netflix to fire board member Susan Rice, a former aide to Democratic former President Barack Obama.
It’s unclear whether he made or lost money on Netflix’s bonds, which paid 5.375% interest and mature in November 2029, as the filing does not reveal if or when he sold the bonds.
Trump, like other U.S. presidents, is exempt from conflict of interest laws that prohibit other executive branch officials from investing in companies that do business for the government. It is believed he purchased the bonds through a trust controlled by his children.
“President Trump’s assets are in a trust controlled by his children,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. “There are no conflicts of interest.”
The deal, which would have left the combined company with about $85 billion in debt, immediately put pressure on Netflix’s bonds. They were trading at $1.03 and $1.04 per dollar when he bought them on Dec. 12 and 16, and at $1.04 and $1.03 per dollar for his second round of purchases on Jan. 2 and 20, according to data compiled by LSEG. They recently traded at $1.04 per dollar on Feb. 26, the day before Netflix withdrew its bid for Warner Bros, but have since returned to $1.03 per dollar as of Friday. Trump also purchased between $500,002 and $1 million worth of Warner Bros bonds in two transactions on December 12 and 16, which were trading at 91.75 cents and 92 cents on the dollar at the time of purchase and are now worth 95 cents on the dollar. If he kept those bonds, they would be in the money now.
Trump began questioning the viability of the Netflix merger days after it was announced on December 5, telling reporters that the concentration of market power “could be a problem.”
Paramount, which is run by the son of Trump ally and Republican megadonor Larry Ellison, made its hostile takeover public on December 8, setting off a bidding war between the two companies. Ellison personally guaranteed more than $40 billion, backed by his shares in Oracle, to help close the deal.
Netflix stopped bidding after Paramount submitted a winning bid of $110 billion about two weeks ago. The Paramount transaction will be backed by $39 billion in new debt from Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo, according to the companies’ Feb. 27 announcement.
The latest revelations from the US Office of Government Ethics, dated February 27, were posted online last week.
Trump, a real estate investor, has reported more than $1 billion in assets on previous forms. He maintains business interests that span crypto, golf clubs and other licensing deals. Trump’s investments in companies his administration oversees could raise ethical concerns.
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