{"id":602143,"date":"2026-04-23T19:17:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T19:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/602143\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T19:17:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T19:17:08","slug":"warner-bros-shareholders-approve-paramounts-81-billion-takeover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/602143\/","title":{"rendered":"Warner Bros shareholders approve Paramount’s $81 billion takeover"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 An $81 billion Warner-Paramount mega merger<\/a> has received shareholders\u2019 stamp of approval, propelling a deal that could vastly reshape Hollywood<\/a> and the wider media landscape closer to the finish line.<\/p>\n

Per a preliminary vote count Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery said the overwhelming majority of its stakeholders voted in support of selling the entire business to Skydance-owned<\/a> Paramount for $31 a share. Including debt, the deal is valued at nearly $111 billion based on Warner\u2019s current outstanding shares. <\/p>\n

That means Warner-owned HBO Max, cult-favorite titles like \u201cHarry Potter\u201d and even CNN<\/a> could soon find themselves under the same roof with Paramount\u2019s CBS, \u201cTop Gun\u201d and the Paramount+ streaming service.<\/p>\n

David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement that stockholder approval marks \u201canother key milestone toward completing this historic transaction.\u201d Paramount added that it looks forward to closing in the coming months, and \u201crealizing the creation of a next-generation media and entertainment company.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a done deal quite yet. The acquisition still faces ongoing regulatory reviews<\/a>. Many critics have decried further consolidation in an industry already controlled<\/a> by just a few major players, and are calling for the merger to be blocked \u2014 if not from the Trump administration, which so far seems unlikely, perhaps at the state level or through other court fights both in the U.S. and abroad.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Warner shareholders rejected a separate measure Thursday outlining post-merger payments for company executives.<\/p>\n

The takeover fight<\/p>\n

Paramount\u2019s quest for Warner has been a bumpy road. And Warner leadership wasn\u2019t always eager to enter this particular marriage. <\/p>\n

Late last year, Warner rebuffed Paramount\u2019s overtures to instead strike a $72 billion studio and streaming deal<\/a> with Netflix. Paramount, meanwhile, went directly to shareholders with a hostile bid<\/a> to take over the whole company, including the cable business that Netflix did not want. All three companies spent months fighting publicly over who had the better offer on the table. Warner\u2019s board repeatedly backed<\/a> Netflix\u2019s bid. But eventually, Paramount offered more money<\/a> and Netflix abruptly bowed out<\/a> of the race.<\/p>\n

That corporate drama may now be over, but implications of a potential Warner sale remain. Thousands of actors, directors, writers and other industry professionals have voiced \u201cunequivocal opposition\u201d to the Paramount deal, in a letter<\/a> arguing that further consolidation will lead to job losses and fewer choices for filmmakers and movie goers.<\/p>\n

Jane Fonda\u2019s Committee for the First Amendment called Thursday\u2019s vote to advance the merger a \u201cserious setback\u201d \u2014 but maintained the fight wasn\u2019t over. \u201cA handful of powerful decision-makers should not be allowed to quietly reshape American media, culture, and creative life without accountability,\u201d the advocacy group said in a statement, while pointing to other efforts to challenge consolidation.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A CinemaCon attendee sports a pin expressing opposition to the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger during CinemaCon 2026, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at Caesars Palace, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo\/Chris Pizzello)<\/p>\n

A CinemaCon attendee sports a pin expressing opposition to the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger during CinemaCon 2026, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at Caesars Palace, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo\/Chris Pizzello)<\/p>\n

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Some have called on states, rather than the federal government, to fight the deal. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has been particularly vocal about the transaction, and said his state is investigating it. <\/p>\n

\u201cState attorneys general across the country are stepping up to stop this antitrust disaster. We need to keep up this fight,\u201d Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a longtime antitrust hawk, wrote on social media Thursday.<\/p>\n

What would come under the same roof<\/p>\n

The merger would bring together two of Hollywood\u2019s five remaining legacy studios. It would also join two major streaming platforms (Paramount+ and HBO Max) and two big names in America\u2019s TV news landscape (CBS and CNN<\/a> ) \u2014 as well as a heap of other brands and entertainment networks.<\/p>\n

Company executives argue this will be good news for consumers, who they say will have access to bigger content libraries, particularly if HBO Max and Paramount+ become one streaming service. And Paramount CEO David Ellison has tried to assure filmmakers<\/a> with a 45-day theatrical window guarantee and goal to release 30 movies a year between Paramount and Warner, which he\u2019s said will remain stand-alone operations<\/a> under a combined company.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love cinema and I love film,\u201d Ellison said at CinemaCon<\/a> last week. \u201cYou can count on our complete commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the new owner will also be looking to cut costs. Regulatory filings have already indicated that would include layoffs and downsizing some overlapping operations. And critics are skeptical about consumer benefits \u2014 warning of higher prices that could arise when it comes to streaming, and potentially less diversity in content down the road.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the news. Since coming under Skydance ownership<\/a> less than a year ago, CBS has already seen significant editorial shifts, notably with the installation of Free Press founder Bari Weiss as CBS News editor-in-chief<\/a>. If the Warner takeover goes through, many are expecting similar changes at CNN<\/a>, a network that has long attracted ire from President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Political implications<\/p>\n

Questions of political influence have piled up. The Justice Department and company leadership have maintained that politics will not play a role in the regulatory process \u2014 but Trump himself has publicly waded into<\/a> Warner\u2019s future at times, despite backpedaling on what he once suggested his personal role would be. <\/p>\n

The Republican president also has a close relationship with the Ellison family, particularly Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who is putting billions of dollars on the table<\/a> to back the bid for his son\u2019s company.<\/p>\n

Support for Paramount\u2019s proposed buyout is falling largely along party lines in Washington. Democratic senators held a \u201cspotlight\u201d hearing on the merger last week, and have been more outspoken about antitrust concerns spanning from a potential Paramount-Warner combo. In contrast, lawmakers from both sides questioned Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Warner\u2019s chief revenue and strategy officer Bruce Campbell in February, calling on regulators to heavily scrutinize that deal at the time.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Paramount has secured money from several sovereign investment funds \u2014 including Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund, as well as funds from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, per regulatory filings<\/a>. But such investors will not have voting rights in a future Paramount-Warner combo, the filings noted. Paramount has not publicly specified how much they\u2019re contributing.<\/p>\n

Other countries, including European regulators, also looking the deal \u2014 and again, states may try to challenge it too. Labor unions and other entities could also wade in.<\/p>\n

Shares of Paramount Skydance fell nearly 6% on after Thursday\u2019s vote, and Warner Bros. Discovery\u2019s stock slipped slightly as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 An $81 billion Warner-Paramount mega merger has received shareholders\u2019 stamp of approval, propelling a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[100518,80360,28,18205,7687,12,88,851,163164,24550,69141,25222,14007,34255,217,72233,93508,131,48225,8647],"class_list":["post-602143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-bari-weiss","tag-bruce-campbell","tag-business","tag-david-ellison","tag-david-zaslav","tag-donald-trump","tag-entertainment","tag-inc","tag-industry-regulation","tag-jane-fonda","tag-larry-ellison","tag-media-and-entertainment-industry","tag-mergers-and-acquisitions","tag-monopoly-and-antitrust","tag-netflix","tag-paramount-skydance-corp","tag-rob-bonta","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-streaming-media","tag-voting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}