Warner Bros. shareholders approve controversial $111-billion Paramount takeover

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Paramount Skydance’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros.Discovery cleared a major hurdle Thursday as Warner stockholders overwhelmingly embraced the $111-billion deal.Approval was expected.

Paramount Chairman David Ellison’s proposal would pay Warner investors $31 a share — four times the price of the company’s stock a year ago.Warner Bros.

officials did not disclose the precise vote count during the nine-minute special shareholder meeting beyond saying the merger “received sufficient votes and has overwhelmingly passed.”Paramount offered the generous premium to compete with, and ultimately triumph over, Netflix, which withdrew from the auction in late February after Ellison’s father, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, agreed to guarantee the financing of his son’s deal.The merger would create a new Hollywood behemoth by giving Paramount, which owns CBS and the Melrose Avenue film studio, such valuable assets as HBO, HBO Max, CNN, TBS, Food Network and Warner Bros.’ film and television studios in Burbank.Warner controls beloved TV shows, franchises and movies, including “Casablanca,” Harry Potter, D.C.

Comics, “Game of Thrones,” “Euphoria,” “The Pitt,” and “Rooster.” “Shareholder approval marks another important milestone towards completing our acquisition of Warner Bros.Discovery, building on our successful equity and debt syndications and progress across regulatory approvals,” Paramount said Thursday in a statement.

“We look forward to closing the transaction in the coming months and realizing the creation of a next-generation media and entertainment company that better serves both the creative community and consumers.”Paramount now must secure regulatory approvals in the U.S.and abroad.

Ellison, who is poised to honor President Trump with a dinner Thursday evening in Washington, hopes to complete the deal by late summer.Sharehold...