Warner Bros shareholders approve Paramount merger
The Warner-Paramount megamerger has won shareholder approval, bringing a deal that could dramatically reshape Hollywood and the broader media landscape closer to the finish line.
The company said an overwhelming majority of Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted to sell the entire business to Paramount for $31 per share, according to a preliminary vote count on Thursday.
Including debt, the deal is valued at approximately US$111 billion ($155 billion).
Paramount, which owns Skydance, wants to buy all of Warner.
This means cult favorites like HBO Max, Harry Potter, and even CNN may soon find themselves under the same roof as CBS, Top Gun, and the Paramount+ streaming service.
The green light from company shareholders increases the likelihood of this becoming a reality.
But it’s not a done deal yet.
The acquisition still faces ongoing regulatory reviews.
Warner said it expects to close in the third fiscal quarter.
Meanwhile, Warner shareholders on Thursday rejected a separate measure outlining post-merger pay for company executives.
Paramount’s search for Warner was far from smooth sailing.
And although Warner’s board of directors has now approved the Paramount merger, it wasn’t always keen on this particular marriage.
Late last year, Warner turned down Paramount’s offer and signed a $72 billion studio and streaming deal with Netflix instead.
Paramount, meanwhile, went directly to shareholders with a hostile bid to take over the entire company, including its cable business, which Netflix didn’t want.
All three companies fought publicly for months over who would offer the better offer.
Warner’s board has repeatedly supported Netflix’s bid.
But eventually Paramount offered more money, and Netflix abruptly dropped out of the race rather than prolong the fight.
This corporate drama may be over now, but its effects remain.
Thousands of actors, directors, writers and other industry professionals voiced their “strong opposition” to the deal in a letter arguing that further consolidation would lead to job losses and fewer options for filmmakers and moviegoers.
Jane Fonda’s First Amendment Committee on Thursday called Warner shareholders’ votes to advance the merger a “serious setback” but argued that “the fight is far from over.”
In a statement, the advocacy group noted past efforts to challenge consolidation and said “a handful of powerful policymakers should not be allowed to quietly reshape American media, culture, and creative life without accountability.”
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