Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approve Paramount Skydance mergernewsline24

The biggest media merger in years is inching closer to the finish line.

Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted Thursday to approve the company’s acquisition by Paramount Skydance, a tie-up that would unite two of Hollywood’s most storied film studios under the same corporate roof and reshape American entertainment.

The “yes” vote from WBD’s shareholders was widely expected after the boards of directors at both entertainment giants unanimously endorsed the blockbuster $110 billion transaction.

“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.

Paramount Skydance’s offer of $31 a share values WBD at roughly $77 billion and includes the Warner Bros. film studio, the HBO Max streaming platform and a portfolio of cable channels, including CNN, TBS and TNT.

Together, the two studios would own a sprawling library of intellectual property that ranges from “The Godfather” and SpongeBob Squarepants (Paramount) to “Casablanca” and the Harry Potter universe (WBD).

But the transaction still needs to be approved by antitrust regulators at the Department of Justice. The merger could face a separate legal challenge from California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose office is investigating the deal.

The deal also faces growing pushback from Democratic lawmakers, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, as well as high-profile members of Hollywood’s creative community.

More than 4,000 actors, directors, screenwriters and producers have signed an open letter vehemently opposing the merger, arguing it would harm an industry “already under severe strain, in large part due to prior waves of consolidation.”

“This 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,” the signers wrote in the letter.

Paramount Skydance has rebutted that argument, insisting that the merger “strengthens both consumer choice and competition, creating greater opportunities for creators, audiences and the communities they live and work in.”

Paramount CEO David Ellison has attempted to reassure filmmakers with a pledge to keep movies in theaters for at least 45 days and release 30 films a year between the two studios. He has said Warner Bros. Pictures will remain a standalone operation.

Ellison is the 43-year-old son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, a close ally of President Donald Trump’s. Trump has publicly praised the Ellison family and called for new ownership of CNN, leading Warren to raise concerns about “political favoritism.”

In an interview with Reuters in March, the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division said Paramount Skydance will “absolutely not” have a fast track to approval because of political considerations.

“The idea that somehow enforcement has been politicized is ludicrous,” acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi said.

In the fight for WBD, Ellison and his financial backers prevailed over Netflix, which backed out of a bidding war with Paramount Skydance in late February.

Netflix did not walk away empty-handed, however: Paramount Skydance paid the streaming giant a $2.8 billion termination fee, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.