Warner Bros. Discovery Sets the Shareholder Vote Date for Paramount’s Takeover
Warner Bros. Discovery has set April 23, 2026 at 10am Eastern as the date and time when stockholders will vote on Paramount Skydance‘s $111 billion proposed takeover of the company.
The Warner Bros. Discovery board has recommended shareholders vote for the merger and proxy statements are currently being mailed to shareholders.
The deal, if approved would be expected to close in the third quarter of 2026 but needs to pass the shareholder vote as well as regulatory approval. The Ellisons, who are driving the deal, are friends with President Trump so it is expected to pass with little pushback from the Department of Justice.
The acting head of the DOJ’s antitrust division, Omeed Assefi, said the deal would “absolutely not” be fast-tracked due to political reasons, but we’ll believe it when we see it.
WBD shareholders will receive $31 per share in cash for each share of WBD common stock. Paramount will assume $33 billion in debt on WBD’s balance sheet leaving Paramount-WBD with an estimated $79 billion in long-term debt.
If the deal goes beyond September 30, 2026, Paramount will pay WBD shareholders a 25-cent-per-share “ticking fee” for each quarter missed until closing. That’s about $650 million in additional costs per quarter.
The deal will have a major impact on the comic industry as DC Comics, Wonder Comics, and Milestone Media, are all owned by Warner Bros. Discovery or have deals with it.
We’ve detailed how the Ellison and Skydance takeover of Paramount has led to a more conservative bent in CBS News, and it’s expected that a similar shift will happen with the WBD takeover and CNN, though they’ll claim they’re being “neutral.” Larry Ellison also has a stake in the purchase of TikTok by US interest giving the Ellisons key news sources for all three major demographics, and they’ve shown their willingness to bend and censor news.
We haven’t seen a shift in tone in the entertainment division of Paramount, yet, but the purchase is so new, that likely won’t shake out for years.
We recently discussed on our Comic Shoot podcast how the entire deal is on shaky grounds putting numerous divisions, including DC, in a precarious position if things begin to topple like we’d expect.
There’s also the ethical questions poised about supporting a comic publisher, and properties, whose owner has clear malicious intent and is a partner of the current Trump regime.
