By Trevor Hunnicutt and Matt Tracy
WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump bought more than $1.1 million of Netflix bonds over the last three months as the streaming giant unsuccessfully fought Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros Discovery, according to government disclosures.
Trump bought more than $500,000 of Netflix's bonds in two transactions on December 12 and December 16 and another more than $600,000 across two more trades on January 2 and 20, the disclosures show. The
White House disclosed a range, rather than exact amounts, of between just over $1.1 million and $2.25 million.
The purchases came as the Republican president and his regulatory officials talked Netflix down in the press, calling into question whether the deal would withstand antitrust scrutiny and pressuring Netflix to fire board member Susan Rice, a onetime aide to Democratic former President Barack Obama.
It's unclear whether he made or lost money on Netflix's bonds, which paid an interest rate of 5.375% and are due in November 2029, since the filing doesn't disclose 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 with business before the government. He is believed to have bought the bonds through a trust managed by his kids.
"President Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children," said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly. "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 on the dollar when he bought them on December 12 and 16 and at $1.04 and $1.03 on the dollar for his second round of purchases on January 2 and 20, according to data compiled by LSEG.
They were recently trading at $1.04 on the dollar on February 26, the day before Netflix withdrew its bid for Warner Bros, but have since moved back to $1.03 on the dollar as of Friday.
Trump also purchased between $500,002 and $1 million in Warner Bros bonds in two trades on December 12 and December 16 that were trading at 91.75 cents and 92 cents on the dollar when they were purchased and are now worth 95 cents on every dollar. If he held on to those bonds, they would be in the money now.
Trump started calling into question the viability of the merger with Netflix days after it was announced on December 5, telling reporters the concentration of market power "could be a problem."
Paramount, which is run by the son of Trump ally and Republican megadonor Larry Ellison, took its hostile takeover public on December 8, kicking off a bidding war between the two companies. Ellison personally guaranteed more than $40 billion, backed by his shares in Oracle, to help seal the deal.
Netflix bowed out of the bidding after Paramount came in with a winning $110 billion offer about two weeks ago. The Paramount transaction will be backed by $39 billion in new debt provided by Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo, according to the companies’ Feb. 27 announcement.
The latest U.S. Office of Government Ethics disclosures, dated February 27, were posted online last week.
Trump, a real estate investor, has reported more than $1 billion in assets on prior forms. He maintains business interests spanning crypto, golf clubs and other licensing deals. Trump's investments in companies that his administration oversees could raise ethical concerns.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Matt Tracy in Washington; Editing by Dawn Kopecki and Nick Zieminski)
