Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: “Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros’ studio and streaming assets has hit a stumbling block after Donald Trump flagged potential competition concerns.
“The US President made comments about market share, suggesting that competition authorities will look closely at whether a combined entity would be too dominant.
“Much attention has been given to Trump’s friendship with Larry Ellison, whose son David had previously spearheaded a deal for Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros, which was unsuccessful.
“There is a lot of talk that Trump seemed to support such a deal at the time, so the President opposing the Netflix acquisition would be double standards.
“Fundamentally, Trump wants to bring some pizzazz back to Hollywood.
“He wants to resurrect the glitz and glamour of the US film industry, whose star has faded as more productions are made overseas thanks to tax incentives and cheaper costs.
“Netflix will be under pressure to do as much as possible on home soil, so any commitment to do a certain amount of production in the US could help to win Trump over.”
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