A private equity firm, which is owned by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, has announced its withdrawal from supporting Paramount’s aggressive attempt to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. This update was confirmed by the firm on Tuesday.

In a surprising twist, shortly after Warner Bros. agreed to a purchase deal with Netflix earlier this December, Paramount countered with its own offer. The company aims to bypass Warner’s executive team, appealing directly to its shareholders with a more lucrative proposition. Paramount is willing to pay $30 per Warner share, surpassing Netflix’s offer of $27.75.

Warner Bros., a major player among Hollywood’s leading studios, boasts an impressive portfolio that includes Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO, the DC Comics universe, and the Harry Potter franchise. Industry experts suggest that the acquisition of Warner Bros. could significantly empower the acquiring company, potentially altering the dynamics of the streaming industry. This could either propel Netflix further ahead of its rivals or elevate Paramount as a formidable contender.

Paramount, a relatively smaller entity compared to Netflix, decided to sidestep Warner’s top executives after unsuccessful attempts to negotiate previous offers. The company claimed that Warner’s management did not engage seriously with their proposals.

In a strategic move, Paramount publicized the specifics of its latest bid, offering Warner shareholders the opportunity to sell their shares directly at a predefined price to support its acquisition attempt. Paramount’s offer includes the purchase of Warner’s entire portfolio, encompassing cable networks such as CNN, which Netflix chose to exclude from its proposal.

In its appeal to shareholders, Paramount argued its offer may be more likely to pass regulatory scrutiny from the Trump administration.

The president has said the Warner and Netflix deal “could be a problem” due to the size of the combined market share.

Kushner’s decision to pull his firm’s financial backing takes away a possible Paramount advantage to win over Trump. The amount Kushner’s Affinity Partners was contributing to the offer was not disclosed in Paramount’s latest SEC filings.

“With ​two strong competitors vying to secure the future ​of this unique American ​asset, ​Affinity has decided no longer to pursue ​the opportunity,” the firm said in a statement. “The dynamics ​of the investment have changed significantly ​since we initially became ​involved ​in October. We ​continue to believe there is a strong strategic rationale for Paramount’s offer.”

Paramount’s bid is still backed by wealth funds run by three governments in the Persian Gulf, widely reported as Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

Paramount, which owns which owns CBS, MTV and the streaming service Paramount+, is newly headed by David Ellison, the son of a major Trump donor. But Trump has recently criticized the Ellisons for his treatment by CBS News’ “60 Minutes.”

“If they are friends, I’d hate to see my enemies!” Trump said Tuesday on Truth Social.

Warner is reviewing Paramount’s offer and is expected to tell shareholders soon whether it’s a better deal than selling to Netflix.