US President Donald Trump reportedly acquired corporate bonds issued by Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery, each worth $1 million, just weeks after the companies announced their merger.
A financial disclosure released by the White House, as cited by The Hollywood Reporter, revealed that the debt securities were acquired in the days after Netflix announced its $83 billion blockbuster deal for Warner Bros.
The White House released a statement to the president late Thursday, listing dozens of transactions totaling more than $100 million, including acquired debt from entertainment companies, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The disclosure, which is dated Jan. 14, does not specify the exact value of each purchase, instead offering a range.
What did the revelation show?
Trump acquired two tranches of Netflix bonds, one purchase of $250,001 to $500,000 on Dec. 12 and a second purchase of $250,001 to $500,000 made on Dec. 16, according to the form released. The Netflix bonds mature in November 2029.
The form also shows that Trump received bond issues from Discovery Communications LLC, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The first tranche was raised on December 12 and is valued at $250,001 to $500,000 and the second WBD bond purchase was made on December 16 with a quoted value of between $250,001 to $500,000. WBD’s bonds mature in 2030, the Hollywood Reporter reported.
The purchase of Netflix and WBD’s debt securities began just a week after the two companies signed their megadeal, even as David Ellison’s Paramount seeks to pry WBD from Netflix with a hostile tender offer and a potential proxy fight, the report added.
Trump also acquired a similar number of corporate bonds issued by SiriusXM, according to the filing, along with dozens of other purchases.
A White House representative told The Hollywood Reporter that the president’s investments are intended to replicate established indexes and that “neither President Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold. All investment decisions are made solely by independent managers.”
According to the report, most of the bonds Trump acquired in December were municipal bonds from states and cities across the country, but they also included many corporate bonds from major U.S. companies, including General Motors, Boeing, Macy’s and Victoria’s Secret.
