Warner Bros. Discovery Shareholders Approve $81 Billion Paramount Skydance Takeover
The story began with a bidding war over Warner Bros. Discovery as buyers sought its studios and streaming assets. Warner initially backed a $72 billion Netflix proposal for those assets. Netflix withdrew after Paramount Skydance raised its offer. That escalation set the stage for the deal that shareholders just voted on.
Paramount Skydance offered an $81 billion equity deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery at $31 per share. Including assumed debt, the total transaction is valued at nearly $111 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders held a preliminary vote Thursday and overwhelmingly approved the $31-per-share sale. The vote clears a major shareholder obstacle but does not complete the merger.
Early coverage, including PBS, emphasized the business terms and creative plans from Paramount, noting a 45-day theatrical window pledge and a goal of 30 films a year, and that HBO Max and Paramount+ may be combined while studios stay stand-alone. Later reporting, led by outlets such as MS NOW, shifted attention to political and editorial concerns, raising questions about close ties between Paramount executives and President Trump and about undisclosed conflicts of interest. CBS MoneyWatch confirmed the shareholder vote and underscored that Paramount Skydance will own CBS News, a fact that intensified scrutiny. Thousands of industry workers warned about job losses and consolidation, and Senator Cory Booker highlighted risks of concentrated control at a Senate spotlight hearing.
The current result is that Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approved the $81 billion equity takeover by Paramount Skydance, a deal worth nearly $111 billion when debt is included. Paramount CEO David Ellison promised the 45-day theatrical window, a 30-films-per-year target across the combined studios, and possible unification of streaming services while keeping studios separate. Lawmakers and state attorneys general are calling for heightened regulatory review, and the merger still requires antitrust and other approvals before it can close. Critics say the deal risks job cuts and greater concentration of power in news and entertainment, while supporters point to scale and production commitments.
đ Key Facts
- Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted to approve Paramount Skydance's takeover, agreeing to a $31-per-share, $81 billion equity deal valued at nearly $111 billion including assumed debt.
- Several outlets reported the shareholder vote as overwhelming in a preliminary tally, and CBS confirmed shareholders have formally voted to approve the Paramount Skydance merger.
- The deal follows a prior bidding war in which Warner initially backed a $72 billion Netflix studio-and-streaming bid before Paramount raised its offer and Netflix withdrew.
- Thousands of industry workers opposed the merger, warning of job losses and media consolidation; the matter drew a Senate spotlight hearing in which Sen. Cory Booker warned about concentrated control of news and entertainment.
- Paramount CEO David Ellison pledged a 45-day theatrical window, a goal of about 30 films a year across the combined studios, and said HBO Max and Paramount+ may be combined while the studios themselves remain stand-alone.
- Paramount Skydance is the parent of CBS News; reports say that after the Ellison family's earlier acquisition of Paramount Global, Bari Weiss (via her Free Press acquisition) was installed as CBS News editor-in-chief and pulled a planned '60 Minutes' segment.
- Reports tied the Ellison family to close relationships with President Trump, noting the Trump administration previously approved the Ellisons' acquisition of Paramount Global after CBS agreed to pay $16 million to settle Trump's $20 billion lawsuit; lawmakers and state attorneys general are calling for heightened scrutiny of potential undisclosed conflicts of interest.
- One report said Bari Weiss, David Ellison and other Paramount executives were scheduled to host President Trump at a dinner at the Institute of Peace on the same day as the Warner shareholder vote.
đ° Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Warner Bros. shareholders overwhelmingly approved Paramount Skydance's $81 billion offer at $31 per share in a preliminary vote Thursday.
- The article explicitly ties regulatory approval to the Trump administration and highlights concerns about the Ellison family's close relationship with President Trump while gaining control of CNN.
- It reports that the Trump administration previously approved the Ellison family's acquisition of Paramount Global after CBS agreed to pay $16 million to settle Trump's $20 billion lawsuit over a '60 Minutes' Kamala Harris interview.
- It adds that after that deal, Bari Weiss, via her Free Press acquisition, was installed as editor-in-chief at CBS News and pulled a planned '60 Minutes' segment on abuse inside an El Salvador megaprison holding Venezuelan migrants deported from the U.S.
- Lawmakers and state attorneys general are already calling for heightened scrutiny of 'undisclosed conflicts of interest' around this new merger.
- The piece notes that Weiss, David Ellison and other Paramount executives were scheduled to host Trump at a dinner at the Institute of Peace in Washington on the same day as the Warner shareholder vote.
- CBS segment confirms that Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders have formally voted to approve the Paramount Skydance merger.
- The report reiterates that Paramount Skydance is the parent of CBS News, underscoring ownership implications for the outlet itself.
- Shareholders approved selling Warner Bros. Discovery to Paramount for $31 per share in an $81 billion equity deal valued at nearly $111 billion including debt.
- Article details prior bidding war in which Warner initially backed a $72 billion Netflix studio and streaming bid before Paramount raised its offer and Netflix withdrew.
- Story notes extensive opposition from thousands of industry workers warning of job losses and consolidation, plus a Senate 'spotlight' hearing where Sen. Cory Booker warned about concentrated control of news and entertainment.
- Paramount CEO David Ellison has pledged a 45-day theatrical window and a goal of 30 films a year across the combined studios, promising HBO Max and Paramount+ may be combined while the studios stay stand-alone.