Shareholders Say "Yes" to Paramount Merger, but "No" to Zaslav’s $887 Million Payday

There have been protests, and there will still be governmental review, but the verdict is in, and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shareholders officially approved the $111 billion merger with Paramount-Skydance.

The deal passed with an overwhelming majority, with stock prices set at $31.

But the one wrinkle in all this? Well, it turns out the shareholders were not as happy with the job David Zaslav did.

According to a new report from Variety, that same group of shareholders voted down the executive compensation packages, including Zaslav’s nearly $900 million "golden parachute."

Today, we'll cover what this means for the future of the studio and why the industry is watching this so closely.

Let's dive in.

The Approval: A $111 Billion Power Move

I think many people were hoping for some sort of miracle that kept another buyer on the table, but the shareholder vote cleared the biggest hurdle for the Paramount-Skydance acquisition.

We now have what some are calling a super studio, with massive amounts of IP, that ranges from Star Trek and SpongeBob to Batman and Game of Thrones. And Harry Potter, too.

Here are the numbers:

• The Price Tag: $111 billion (including debt).
• The Close Date: Expected in Q3 2026.
• The Boss: David Ellison is set to take the reins, marking a shift back to "producer-led" management after years of Zaslav’s "efficiency-first" (a.k.a. tax write-off) strategy. And that should be a silver lining.

The Zaslav Payday Rejection

Aside from the merger itself, the drama of the deal centered on Zaslav's exit package, which was voted down by shareholders in a very symbolic rebuke of the situation.

Zaslav’s exit package was supposedly a staggering $887 million. To put that in perspective, that’s more than the entire production budget of the last five Best Picture winners combined.

That feels like too much for a guy who came in and scrapped movies and then took an historic eight weeks at the box office and flipped it instead into selling the company.

Here's how the package for Zaslav was broken down:

• $34.2 million in cash severance.
• $517.2 million in equity in the new combined company.
• $335.4 million in "tax reimbursements" (the company essentially paying his taxes for him).

You can rejoice with pettiness that they voted "no." But it was symbolic and not binding. The guy is going to get paid. The WBD Board of Directors can approve the payment anyway.

It's a massive blow to the ego, but chances are it won't be to his bank account.

Why Should Filmmakers Care?

The merger has been a topic of interest for the last few years. We've seen mergers all over Hollywood. While shareholders make money, we have fewer buyers, fewer jobs, fewer execs, and fewer films.

It's not great for the industry as a whole.

But we're hoping this time David Ellison comes in and makes the 30 movies he's promised, and uses this super studio to employ even more people than before.

What else is on people's minds?

1. The "Synergy" Scythe: This is the flip side of what could happen. David Ellison has already promised billions in "synergies." Usually, that means more layoffs and fewer buyers in the room.
2. The Death of the "Write-Off" Era? This could be great! Zaslav became the face of a corporate strategy that saw completed films treated as tax assets rather than art. We're hoping that the accounting over art mindset is done. At least, at Paramount/WB/Skydance.
3. The Ellison Factor: David Ellison has built Skydance on big, theatrical swings (Top Gun: Maverick , Mission: Impossible). There is hope that the new "Paramount-Warner" will prioritize theatrical releases over the "straight-to-Max" dumping ground we’ve seen recently. Again, this could be good!

Summing It All Up

David Zaslav is leaving WBD with a bank account that rivals the GDP of a small nation, even if his shareholders tried to stop him. As he exits, he leaves behind a Hollywood landscape that is smaller, leaner, and more consolidated than ever before.

It's hard not to be annoyed about that, especially after WB was really crushing it. Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca should be early favorites to run that wing of the studio, or should get gobbled up by another major studio that actually wants to make good, theatrical movies.

For those of us on the creative side, the message is clear: The "Business of Show" has never been more focused on the business.

Now, we wait to see if David Ellison can bring back the show.

Let me know what you think in the comments.