finance
Warner Bros. Discovery Shareholders Approve $110 Billion Merger with Paramount Skydance
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve a $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance, parent of CBS News, during a special meeting on Thursday. The deal, offering $31 per share, still requires regulatory approval and faces potential lawsuits.
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Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approved the company's $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance during a special meeting on Thursday, with the vote described as overwhelming in favor of the acquisition. Paramount Skydance, the parent company of CBS News, offered $31 per share to acquire the entirety of Warner Bros.
Discovery, which includes pay TV networks like CNN and TNT, the streaming service HBO Max, and the Warner Bros. film studio. The proposal emerged from several offers since September and a bidding war involving Netflix and Comcast.
In late February, Paramount's increased offer to $31 per share prompted Netflix to withdraw from its proposed deal for Warner Bros. Discovery's studio and streaming assets. The merger includes a $7 billion breakup fee if it fails to gain regulatory approval.
Warner Bros. 8 billion breakup fee owed to Netflix for terminating that earlier agreement. The companies expect the deal to close between July and September, pending sign-off from regulators.
The boards of Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount have already approved the merger. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav stated, 'Today’s stockholder approval is another key milestone toward completing this historic transaction that will deliver exceptional value to our stockholders.
Zaslav also said, 'Over the past four years, our teams have transformed Warner Bros. A Paramount Skydance spokesperson stated, 'Shareholder approval marks another important milestone towards completing our acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, building on our successful equity and debt syndications and progress across regulatory approvals.
The merger requires regulatory approval from the Department of Justice and European regulatory agencies.
There is also the possibility of a lawsuit filed by a coalition of state attorneys general to block it, which could delay the process. Shareholders voted against proposed compensation packages for Warner Bros. Discovery executives, including a $550 million payout to outgoing CEO David Zaslav.
