Paramount’s $81 billion Warner Bros mega merger moves closer to becoming a reality as shareholders approve deal

An $81 billion Warner-Paramount mega merger has received shareholders’ stamp of approval, propelling a deal that could vastly reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape closer to the finish line.

Per a preliminary vote count on Thursday, the overwhelming majority of Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted in support of selling the entire business to Paramount for $31 a share, the company said. Including debt, the deal is valued at nearly $111 billion.

Skydance-owned Paramount wants to buy all of Warner. That means HBO Max, cult-favorite titles like “Harry Potter” and even CNN could soon find themselves under the same roof with CBS, “Top Gun” and the Paramount streaming service. A greenlight from company shareholders increases the likelihood of that becoming a reality.

David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement that stockholder approval marks “another key milestone toward completing this historic transaction.” Paramount added that it looks forward to closing in the coming months, and “realizing the creation of a next-generation media and entertainment company.”

It’s not a done deal quite yet. The acquisition still faces ongoing regulatory reviews. Many critics have sounded the alarm on further consolidation in an industry already controlled by just a few major players, and are calling for the merger to get blocked — if not from the Trump administration, which seems unlikely, perhaps at the state level in the U.S. or through other court fights.

Meanwhile, Warner shareholders rejected a separate measure Thursday that outlined post-merger payments for company executives.

Paramount’s quest for Warner has been far from smooth sailing. And Warner leadership wasn’t always........

© Fortune