There’s a bidding war going on to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery in what could be Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster deal ever.

So far, there are two main contestants. Netflix has agreed to buy the film and streaming businesses of Warner Bros. Discovery for $72 billion in potentially the biggest Hollywood deal ever.

Meanwhile, Tech billionaire Larry Ellison has offered a sweet $40 billion cash offer. Paramount Skydance can acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. This isn’t Monopoly Money we’re talking about.

There are lots of moving parts here that we won’t get into, but you can read the latest here.

Acquisitions like this almost always benefit the shareholders of the acquired company. Thousands of new millionaires will be hatched either way, and small shareholders will benefit hugely as well as both deals will jack up the share price.  Isn’t free market capitalism a grand thing?

So here’s the question of the day: who should decide which offer to accept and the terms of the deal?

A) The Justice Department
B) The FTC
C) The courts
D) The White House
E) The shareholders

If you didn’t pick E, you don’t believe in private property rights and free market capitalism.

The busybodies in Washington want anyone BUT the shareholders to decide. They worry about antitrust hobgoblins. In reality, there are few if any industries LESS likely to seize market power than entertainment/movie making/video streaming, which has thousands of players and is all going to change overnight with the coming AI revolution.