The tussle between Netflix, Paramount and Comcast to buy Warner Bros Discovery has turned ugly with Paramount Skydance saying it is being treated unfairly in the bidding process.

Netflix appears the front runner with Reuters reporting it submitted the highest bid in this latest binding round. CNBC reported that Netflix had presented a proposal consisting of 85 percent cash.

Earlier this week Reuters said Warner Bros Discovery’s board had rejected Paramount’s “mostly cash offer of nearly $24 a share for the company, valuing it at $60 billion”.

Comcast appears the least favoured bidder due to its anti-MAGA coverage.

The latest round of offers is binding with a decision expected shortly.

Paramount Skydance has now fired off a legal letter to Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav questioning the “fairness and adequacy” of the bidding process, says Reuters. It mentions media reports this week that suggests Warner Bros Discovery favours Netflix.

“We strongly urge you to empower such a special committee comprised of directors with no potential appearance of bias or beholdenness to others whose interests may differ from those of the stockholders,” Paramount’s legal team said in the letter sighted by Reuters.

It wants confirmation that WBD formed an independent special committee to evaluate offers and oversee the sale, says the letter.

There’s also a claim of the apparent closeness between Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Zaslav, The New York Post reports.

It says the Ellison family owners at Paramount Skydance plans to plead directly with WBD shareholders, arguing the Netflix tie-up would be halted by regulators, sources said.

Added to this, senior officials at The White House this week are reportedly concerned that Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery and HBO Max would present major antitrust problems.

In an earlier report, The New York Post said that about 10 days ago the officials had discussed launching a broader investigation of Netflix’s market power. The deal could also face scrutiny by the Department of Justice.

“Basically everyone agreed that Netflix presents unique antitrust concerns and if it won the bidding war it would be one long slog and touch off an investigation along the lines of those of Google and Amazon,” the Post quoted a government official saying.

And there’s politics. Whether it plays a direct role is yet to be seen, but Paramount Skydance backer Larry Ellison is regarded as a major Republican supporter and donor with his son David running Skydance Media.