Warner Bros Discovery shareholders approve $110B merger with Paramount Skydance

Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery voted Thursday to approve a $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance. If federal and international regulators approve, media mogul David Ellison — son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison — will control the legendary Warner Bros. studio as well as cable channels including CNN and HBO and Warner's streaming assets.

Over the past few months, the pending consolidation sparked many fears, which David Ellison tried to quell. He made a pitch to Madison Avenue executives on Tuesday, asking for advertising support.

And last week at CinemaCon, an annual convention for movie theater owners, Ellison repeated his promise — that the combined Warner and Paramount studios would put out 30 movies a year.

That was welcome news to Adam Aron, the CEO of the theater chain AMC, who endorsed the takeover deal.

"I greatly appreciate David Ellison's track record of success and his passion to make movies that will dazzle audiences the world over," Aron said in a post on X.

Powerhouse movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who was behind such blockbuster franchises as Top Gun and Pirates of the Caribbean, says that final approval of the Warner-Paramount deal is inevitable.

"The train has left the station. It's going to get done," Bruckheimer told NPR. "David, I know, loves movies, and he made a commitment that he'd like to make 30 movies between the two studios. That's a lot of movies. I could be wrong, but I have faith that what they say is what's in their heart, too."

David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, speaks onstage during the Paramount Pictures presentation at CinemaCon this month, in Las Vegas.

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AFP - Getty Images

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The shareholders did not pass a compensation package for Warner's executives in a non-binding advisory vote. According to proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholders Services, the current Warner CEO David Zaslav could receive a "golden parachute" from the transaction — nearly $887 million.

More than 4,000 Hollywood directors, actors, writers and others in the industry signed an open letter opposing the merger. The signatories include A-listers Kristen Stewart, Pedro Pascal and Javier Bardem.

In an Instagram video posted by the Committee for the First Amendment, Jane Fonda, Mark Ruffalo and other actors made a plea to stop the merger. They were skeptical of David Ellison's promises.

Ruffalo said he thought the megadeal would mean "fewer jobs, higher costs, and less choices for our beloved audiences."

Some said they fear the deal will lead to less creative content; others said it would further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape.

Critics in Hollywood also say the merger would give too much power to the Ellison family — which is friendly with President Donald Trump.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has been investigating the deal for antitrust violations. The consolidation is also opposed by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Schumer and Cory Booker. They sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission — whose chair supports the merger – urging federal scrutiny of the deal and its foreign financing, partially sourced from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

The deal still has to pass muster with federal and international regulators. If approved, Paramount aims to close no later than Sept. 30.

Meanwhile, David Ellison plans to host an invitation-only dinner party tonight in Washington, D.C., to honor Trump.
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