Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted Thursday, approving Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of the company, making way for antitrust regulators at the Justice Department to take up the acquisition.
In what could be the biggest media merger in years, Warner Bros. and Paramount could become one, creating a powerhouse in the film and television industry, owning everything from “The Godfather” and “SpongeBob SquarePants” to the entire Harry Potter franchise.
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Shareholders approved the acquisition on Thursday, after months of back-and-forth between Warner Bros. and other production studios seeking to buy out the operation, including Netflix.
The boards of directors at both entertainment studios unanimously endorsed the $110 billion transaction, with Paramount Skydance offering $31 a share.
“Today’s stockholder approval is another key milestone toward completing this historic transaction that will deliver exceptional value to our stockholders,” WBD CEO David Zaslav said.
What the future could hold
The deal, if federally approved, would include the Warner Bros. film studio, the HBO Max streaming platform and all its cable channels, including CNN, TBS and TNT.
But with Paramount’s acquisition, the future of CNN would likely be called into question.
As Straight Arrow previously reported, since its merger with Skydance Media earlier this year, Paramount is now run by President Donald Trump’s ally David Ellison, son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison.
And Trump has been fiercely critical of CNN, with he and Ellison having conversations about the news organization’s future should Paramount acquire it. Ellison reportedly promised the president sweeping changes.
CBS News is also facing an uncertain future, after Trump targeted the news organization for what he alleged was deceptive editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Struggles the deal could still face
All that to say, there’s still a chance for this deal to fall through. The DOJ still needs to give its stamp of approval.
However, its consideration comes amid fierce pushback both from Democratic lawmakers and more than 4,000 industry workers, including actors, directors and producers.
In an open letter, industry employees said the transaction would “further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape, reducing competition at a moment when our industries—and the audiences we serve—can least afford it.”
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