Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve Paramount’s $81 billion takeover bid, advancing what would be the largest media merger in years and one that promises to redraw the map of Hollywood’s remaining major studios.
The deal, valued at roughly $111 billion when debt is included, would deliver the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery — including HBO Max, CNN, and the Harry Potter franchise — into the hands of Paramount, itself acquired by Skydance only last year. The combined company would control two of the five surviving legacy studios, two of the most prominent streaming platforms, and two of the country’s biggest television news operations.
Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive David Zaslav described the shareholder vote as a key milestone in completing what he called a historic transaction. Paramount said it expected the deal to close in the coming months and characterized the combined entity as a next-generation media and entertainment company. In a separate vote Thursday, Warner shareholders rejected a proposed package of post-merger executive compensation.
The path to Thursday’s vote was anything but smooth. Late last year Warner rebuffed Paramount’s initial approach, instead agreeing to a $72 billion streaming and studio combination with Netflix. Paramount responded by going directly to Warner shareholders with a hostile takeover bid for the entire company, including the cable assets Netflix had declined to absorb. A months-long public bidding war followed, with Warner’s board repeatedly backing the Netflix offer — until Paramount raised its price and Netflix abruptly withdrew.
The merger’s scope extends well beyond its financial headline. Paramount+ and HBO Max would likely combine into a single streaming service, offering subscribers a broader content library. Paramount chief executive David Ellison has pledged to keep the two studios as stand-alone operations and has committed to releasing 30 films a year across both labels, along with a guaranteed 45-day theatrical window — an assurance aimed at mollifying an anxious filmmaking community.
The news division merger may prove equally significant. CBS has undergone notable editorial changes since passing to Skydance, including the installation of Free Press founder Bari Weiss as CBS News editor-in-chief. Observers expect CNN, long a target of criticism from President Trump, to face similar shifts should the deal close.
The merger still faces a gauntlet of scrutiny. Thousands of entertainment-industry workers — actors, directors and writers among them — have publicly opposed the deal, arguing it will reduce employment and limit creative choices. Advocacy groups including Jane Fonda’s Committee for the First Amendment called Thursday’s vote a serious setback while signaling continued opposition through other legal and political channels.
At the state level, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has opened an investigation into the transaction. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and other antitrust advocates have urged state officials nationwide to challenge the combination. European regulators are also reviewing the deal, and labor unions may mount their own challenges.
The Justice Department and the companies involved have maintained that the regulatory review will be conducted free of political influence, even as questions about the administration’s posture have swirled. President Trump has publicly commented on Warner’s future on occasion, though he has since walked back suggestions of a personal role in the outcome. He has a close relationship with Oracle founder Larry Ellison, whose son David is leading the Paramount bid and who is providing substantial financial backing for it. Paramount’s chief executive was also set to host a dinner in the president’s honor Thursday evening.
Regulatory filings reveal that Paramount has secured financing from several sovereign wealth funds, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and vehicles linked to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Those investors will not hold voting rights in the merged company, the filings noted. The precise amounts they are contributing have not been disclosed publicly.
Shares of Paramount Skydance fell approximately 4.5% by Thursday’s close, while Warner Bros. Discovery stock slipped modestly as investors weighed the deal’s remaining hurdles.
