Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders to vote on Paramount deal

warner bros. discovery shareholders vote thursday on a merger with paramount skydance. paramount offered $31 per share for all of wbd — cable networks like tnt, cnn and discovery channel, plus hbo max and the warner bros. film studio. the bid came after several offers since september and a bidding war with netflix and comcast. netflix walked away from its own deal for wbd's studio and streaming assets in late february after paramount upped its offer to $31. paramount's offer includes a $7 billion breakup fee if regulators block the deal. it also agreed to pay the $2.8 billion breakup fee wbd owed netflix for ending that agreement. the deal is expected to close in the third quarter, pending regulatory approval. proxy firm iss recommended shareholders accept, calling it "the result of a competitive sales process and public bidding war." but iss stopped short of endorsing the golden parachute for wbd ceo david zaslav — an exit package worth over $800 million, including $500 million in stock awards and a $335 million excise tax gross-up.