Warner Bros. Discovery Shareholders Approve Paramount Merger, But Is This The End?
Paramount and Skydance’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery has been approved by WBD shareholders. But, is that the final word on the matter.
Warner Brothers Discovery shareholders are cool with Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion deal to acquire their company. David Ellison, CEO of Paramount, stands on the precipice of an unbelievable consolidation of power.
However, there are still more hurdles to cross before we get to an actual deal being cemented. Regulatory bodies in the United States have to give their thumbs up on the acquisition. And, with the volatility on display every day in the United States government, who knows what could happen in the meantime.
A lot of insiders and other reporters basically think this was the final nail in the coffin for a non monopoly controlled vision of Hollywood’s future. But, some of those same people were wringing their hands when Netflix made their offer for Warner Brothers Discovery just a few months ago. Things change fast in the entertainment industry and it’s important that we lock in on where we are at this second.
Namely, the idea that the shareholders approved this vote and that’s where we have to leave it at the moment. It’s hard not to imagine Paramount/Skydance brass is thrilled at the prospect of their bid being accepted. But, we’re all just strapped into this rocketship together for the time being.
Warner Bros. Shareholders approve historic merger despite reservations from around Hollywood
This move has not been without controversy. Paramount and Skydance went directly to a lot of shareholders to try and get Warner Bros. to back off with a verbal agreement between Netflix and their company.
In addition, you would have to note the intense public campaign to get social media to decry the prospective Netflix addition too. It’s all been as in-your-face as you could imagine. Unfortunately, the public gets very little say to what happens with their global entertainment sources. The world just keeps turning, well until some sort of regulatory body steps in.
David Ellison, Chairman and CEO of Paramount previously said: “From the very beginning, our pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery has been guided by a clear purpose: to honor the legacy of two iconic companies while accelerating our vision of building a next-generation media and entertainment company.
He continued, “By bringing together these world-class studios, our complementary streaming platforms, and the extraordinary talent behind them, we will create even greater value for audiences, partners and shareholders — and we couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead.”
Will Paramount own WBD?
To be honest, at the moment it isn’t looking good. But honestly, things change in the USA so quickly now that the opposite could be true. Volatility in the markets, the long court case about the antitrust violations and more could complicate this transactions in myriad ways. If anyone worried about the future of Warner Bros. cares, the public sentiment against big corporations could play a factor here too. It’s never been harder to win audience eyeballs. Keep watching the trades for indications of how the wind is blowing on this one.
Senators and other legislators in the United States also don’t want this to happen either. (Probably because people have been blowing their phones up.) So, expect those headwinds to manifest as well.
“The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger isn’t a done deal,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote in a statement to Variety after the shareholder vote. “State attorneys general across the country are stepping up to stop this antitrust disaster. We need to keep up this fight.”
(featured image: Ggerdel – Fotografía tomada por: Gustavo Gerdel, CC BY-SA 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons)
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