Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders are about to vote on the Paramount mega-deal

 

Warner Bros. Discovery’s shareholders will vote Thursday morning on Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of the media giant — a pivotal hurdle in the merger process. 

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Paramount’s blockbuster acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, is poised to clear a pivotal hurdle later this week.

Warner will hold a special meeting for shareholders to vote on the $110 billion bid on Thursday morning.

With the company’s board and multiple proxy advisory firms urging shareholders to vote yes, the deal is expected to be approved, moving Paramount closer to taking over its much bigger rival.

For shareholders, the math might be simple: A year ago, WBD was trading at about $8 per share, so Paramount’s $31-per-share offer comes as a relief.

But Paramount CEO David Ellison’s ambitions to combine his company with WBD remain a subject of controversy and anxiety in Hollywood and beyond.

Thousands of actors, directors, writers and other entertainment workers have signed an open letter opposing the deal, arguing that further consolidation of the media industry will hurt creators and consumers.

Opponents are hoping that state-level antitrust regulators will take action. And several Democratic state attorneys general have said they are examining how the deal will impact the media marketplace.

But Paramount executives are confident they can win all the necessary approvals to complete the takeover in the coming months. In fact, they’ve bet on it: the deal terms include a so-called “ticking fee” that increases the price per share if the deal isn’t finalized by September 30.