Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shareholders have voted overwhelmingly to approve Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of the media giant, clearing a critical milestone in a deal that would create one of the largest entertainment companies in history and fundamentally reshape Hollywood’s competitive landscape.
At a special shareholder meeting held virtually on Thursday, investors cast over 1.7 billion votes in favour of the Paramount merger, compared with roughly 16.3 million against, with WBD describing the outcome as an overwhelming mandate.
Paramount has offered $31 per share for the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery, covering its cable television networks including CNN and TNT, its streaming service Max, and the Warner Bros. film studio. The offer was the result of several rounds of bidding, including a competitive process that saw Netflix walk away from its own proposed deal for WBD’s studio and streaming assets after Paramount raised its bid in late February.
However, shareholders issued a sharp rebuke on executive compensation, rejecting the proposed golden parachute packages for departing Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav and other senior executives. More than 1.4 billion shares were voted against the compensation proposal, compared with just 307.7 million in favour. The potential payout to Zaslav could total as much as $886 million. Although the compensation vote was advisory and non-binding, meaning executives could still receive the payments if the deal closes, the result signals clear shareholder frustration with the scale of the proposed exit packages.
The combined entity would bring together iconic brands including HBO, Max, Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, CNN, CBS, Paramount Pictures, and MTV under a single corporate structure led by Paramount Chief Executive Officer David Ellison.
Opponents of the deal held a protest outside WBD headquarters shortly before the vote, urging Democratic state attorneys general in California and New York to challenge the merger on antitrust grounds. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said after the vote that the fight is not over. Several state attorneys general have said they are closely examining the deal, partly out of concern that federal regulators under the Trump administration will approve it without adequate scrutiny.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory clearances.
