Will Netflix’s $82.7 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. get approval from federal regulators?

While Paramount was considered the frontrunner to acquire the storied movie studio, thanks to CEO David Ellison’s connections to the Trump administration, new reporting Bloomberg And The Hollywood Reporter suggests that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos met with President Donald Trump in November to discuss a potential deal.

Trump reportedly told Sarandos that Warner Bros. should be sold to the highest bidder, and the Netflix executive appeared to have convinced the meeting that the president would not immediately oppose the acquisition.

After initial stories about the meeting appeared on Sunday, Trump confirmed that the meeting took place. As for his feelings about the deal, he said, “Netflix is ​​a great company. They’ve done a phenomenal job. Ted is a fantastic guy. I have a lot of respect for him. But he has a lot of market share, so we’ll have to see what happens.”

Bloomberg also reported that Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav was reluctant to sell the company and was surprised when Paramount began looking for an acquisition — if nothing else, he expected Ellison to wait until the studio moved on from its planned film distribution and business from its cable networks.

Ultimately, Warner Bros. said it would consider other bids, prompting Netflix to launch a competitive process — though Paramount could still keep its hat in the ring with a hostile bid.

This post has been updated with Trump’s comments.