Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shareholders voted to approve the $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance (PSKY), sending Paramount’s stock lower as investors digest the supersized deal.
On Wednesday, Warner Bros. shared in a release that “based on the preliminary vote count from today’s Special Meeting, WBD stockholders voted overwhelmingly to approve the adoption of the merger agreement with Paramount.”
Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav said in the release that the vote is “another key milestone toward completing this historic transaction that will deliver exceptional value to our stockholders.”
There are more steps to come, though. Pending regulatory clearances, the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.
This approval has been a long time coming. Netflix (NFLX) initially won the bid for Warner Bros. with a nearly $83 billion deal that was then outbid by Paramount, which offered to pay $31.00 per share in cash and Netflix’s $2.8 billion termination fee.
This deal combines the streaming services HBO Max and Paramount+ — think “Sopranos” and “SpongeBob SquarePants” under one umbrella or “Euphoria” and “Harry Potter.”
Zaslav believes the combination will create a “next-generation media and entertainment company.”
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Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at [email protected].
