The Paramount water tower is shown on the Paramount studio lot in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Jan. 13. Reuters-Yonhap
NEW YORK — Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders are set to vote Thursday on the company's proposed $81 billion sale to Skydance-owned Paramount, in a mega merger that could vastly reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape.
Paramount wants to buy all of Warner. That means HBO Max, cult-favorite titles like “Harry Potter” and CNN could soon find themselves under the same roof as Paramount’s CBS, “Top Gun” and the Paramount+ streaming service. And a greenlight from shareholders would bring the acquisition closer to the finish line.
Shareholders are expected to meet at 10 a.m. ET to vote on the deal, which is valued at nearly $111 billion, including debt, based on Warner's current outstanding shares.
Even if approved, a Paramount-Warner combo would still face ongoing regulatory reviews, including from the U.S. Department of Justice. Warner has said it expects to close the deal sometime in the third fiscal quarter.
Paramount’s quest for Warner has been far from smooth sailing. And while Warner's board now endorses the Paramount merger, it wasn’t always eager to enter this particular marriage.
Late last year, Warner rebuffed Paramount’s overtures to instead strike a $72 billion studio and streaming deal with Netflix. Paramount, meanwhile, went directly to shareholders with a hostile bid 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’s board repeatedly backed Netflix’s bid. But eventually, Paramount offered more money and Netflix abruptly bowed out of the race rather than prolonging the fight.
That corporate drama may now be over, but the implications remain. Thousands of actors, directors, writers and other industry professionals have voiced “unequivocal opposition” to the deal, in a letter arguing that further consolidation will lead to job losses and fewer choices for filmmakers and moviegoers.
Some lawmakers are also sounding the alarm.
Source: Korea Times News
