Paramount Skydance’s aggressive $108.4 billion cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has jolted Hollywood, but the surprise revelation that a key backer is Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Donald Trump, has added a sharp political undertone to the corporate manoeuvre. Kushner’s firm, Affinity Partners, is listed among the investors financing Paramount’s bid, which also draws on Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and backing from the Ellison family.

Paramount’s takeover proposal offers $30 per share, significantly topping the $27.75-per-share deal previously struck between WBD and streaming rival Netflix for WBD’s studios and streaming assets. Unlike the Netflix deal, which excluded linear cable networks such as CNN and other discovery properties, Paramount’s bid seeks control of WBD i

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