Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approve Paramount Skydance merger

BREAKING NEWSApr. 23, 2026, 2:12 PM UTCMediaMediaWarner Bros. Discovery shareholders approve Paramount Skydance mergerThe transaction still needs to be approved by federal regulators. It also faces growing pushback from Hollywood's creative class.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif.; the Paramount Pictures lot in Los Angeles.Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleBy Daniel ArkinThe biggest media merger in years is inching closer to the finish line.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.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...