WBD Acquisition Thread

[FirePuppy]

Did Hasbro exit its stake in DFC? I recently saw news that they are planning a new channel of their own.

Yes, it's called "Hasbro Legends". But we need to stay more on the topic of what's going on with Paramount's merger with WBD. The way they're saying that their transaction "brings together complementary strengths to create a company that can greenlight more projects", I don't think they know what they're doing, and I have many doubts that it will do any good.

 

[GRPHX]

I don't think further discussion on this will solve anything. As someone who views this purely from a streaming perspective, while I would like to see a more reputable and corporately respectable buyer like Amazon or Netflix enter the picture, it doesn't seem likely to happen.

 

[FirePuppy]

No, just zero investment on DFC.

That's right, and their liability with DFC (including imputed interest) is next.

 

[lowell]

I think that is more of troll activity to ruin the Ellison's chance to get WBD.

Like Lowell said if Amazon gets involved, it would ruin Ellison further.

Either way, the plot thickens when it comes to Netflix, could've been Reed Hastings's last act to stick it to the Ellisons as he left the board:

"Meanwhile, you’ve surely seen the “Block the Merger” open letter circulating through Hollywood, signed by more than 3,000 actors, writers, and directors, including Jason Bateman, Joaquin Phoenix, J.J. Abrams, Florence Pugh, Denis Villeneuve, Ben Stiller, Kristen Stewart, and Pedro Pascal. Efforts like this don’t materialize out of thin air, of course—backers here include the Democracy Defenders Fund, the Committee for the First Amendment, and the Future Film Coalition, which are planning a protest outside CBS during the network’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner party.

But I’m also hearing that there’s some suspicion inside Paramount and beyond that Netflix is astroturfing the glitzy campaign as a way to either delay the deal—remember, the Ellisons have to pay WBD shareholders a ticking fee of roughly $650 million per quarter if the closing drags past September 30—or kill it outright.

So is this groundswell as organic as it looks? The Democracy Defenders Fund, run by veteran Washington operative Norm Eisen, strenuously denies that Netflix is meddling backstage—and Netflix also insists it has nothing to do with the letter or protest. That said, I’ve heard Netflix has been quietly shopping for public affairs operatives to help oppose the deal, and has retained economist Nicholas Hill—a former D.O.J. Antitrust Division official who testified for the plaintiffs in the Live Nation trial—to engage with regulators about the Paramount–WBD merger.

I also spoke with a senior government official who told me his staff has fielded multiple complaints in recent weeks from Hill and others connected with Netflix, focused on the transaction and the prospect of attaching licensing conditions. “Frankly, I am surprised at how aggressive they’ve been with me,” he told me. Netflix denies hiring Hill (who didn’t respond to inquiries) and tells me it’s not interfering in the ongoing regulatory review in any way."

https://puck.news/newsletter_content/what-im-hearing-warners-quiet-payout-the-case-against-paramount/

It is not up to shareholders nor Ellisons to decide about deal to be fast tracked.

DOJ is one to make a decision about fast tracked, also even if fast tracked, it is not guaranteed and it won't speed up with regulators in other countries.

Hey calm down, Paramount-WBD merger is still under review and it is still very far away from conclusion. Quit listen to Ellison's nonsense.

Again, I said M&A is VERY UNPREDICTABLE and there is no way to know about outcome because any situation can change quickly like if Netflix or Amazon opt to fight, so it will drag further and further. If there is lawsuit to block the M&A.

Ellison's promises are as legit as a certain individual's words that a regional conflict is almost over and that a nation's military is mostly decimated.

Meanwhile, that same regional war that can spiral up unexpected side effects for Skydance's WarnerDiscovery pursuit is still ongoing with escalatory moves always on the table.

I will also say Ellison's very delusional in believing the Free Press founder can conjure up his demographic goal of “70% of Americans” in the center with CNN given the damage she's already done to CBS News, lol:

"On Thursday evening, CBS News chief Bari Weiss will join her boss David Ellison and various other Paramount executives at the Institute of Peace in Washington for an invitation-only dinner honoring President Trump, who settled his infamous lawsuit with the network only about 10 months ago, and her political correspondents.

Two nights later, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, she will host Trump advisor Stephen Miller and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, two of the administration’s more outspoken media antagonists, as guests at the CBS News tables. Naturally, as ceasefire talks with Iran stall and gas prices rise, this is the talk of the town.

Unsurprisingly, none of this handwringing has fazed David or Bari, both of whom seem to appreciate the strategic imperative of keeping the president in their good graces and are enjoying the light buzz of keeping the Washington gossip circuit in full throttle. David, of course, is on the precipice of acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, while his father, Larry, just landed majority control of TikTok’s U.S. operations in a sweetheart deal.

Bari, meanwhile, is quite obviously trying to pull CBS News toward an imagined center of the political spectrum, where 70percent of Americans allegedly don’t care whether the president is attending the annual Nerd Prom. The existence of this mythical “70 percent” isn’t exactly borne out by the polling data, but we don’t need to litigate that here. Nor do we need to point out that most of them are already consuming news and media from nontraditional sources who largely scratch this itch—and who have been doing it for so long that the opportunity for Bari probably no longer exists. (Just sayin’…)

Fourth-estate purists have ample reason to bemoan Bari’s plan, but they shouldn’t ignore the strategic rationale, either. In TV news, only Fox has fortress business strategies, and David has enlisted Bari to play for that audience.

In fact, despite her rocky start in the C-suite, I was told this week that he still hopes she can help CNN earn some of that audience after Paramount acquires WBD."

https://puck.news/newsletter_content/baris-awkward-dinner-party-wassermans-suitors-line-up/

 

[TVArchive]

Hmm what will happen to Eurosport in Europe.

 

[RandomMe]

Hmm what will happen to Eurosport in Europe.

Eurosport would continue independent. The British, Irish and Scandinavian TNT Sports would become CBS Sports?

Meanwhile in Israel Ananey would also have to suffer from the possible addition of WB content on its channels

 

[J10]

OFFICIAL STATEMENT:

NEW YORK, April 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. ("WBD" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: WBD) today announced that its stockholders voted to approve its previously announced transaction with Paramount Skydance Corporation ("Paramount") (NASDAQ: PSKY) at the Company's Special Meeting of Stockholders (the "Special Meeting") held earlier today.

"We appreciate the support and confidence our stockholders have placed in us to unlock the full value of our world-class entertainment portfolio," said Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr., Chair of the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors. "With Paramount, we look forward to creating an exceptional combined company that will expand consumer choice and benefit the global creative talent community."

"Over the past four years, our teams have transformed Warner Bros. Discovery and returned the company to industry leadership," said David Zaslav, President and Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery. "Today's stockholder approval is another key milestone toward completing this historic transaction that will deliver exceptional value to our stockholders. We will continue to work with Paramount to complete the remaining steps in this process that will create a leading, next-generation media and entertainment company."

Based on the preliminary vote count from today's Special Meeting, WBD stockholders voted overwhelmingly to approve the adoption of the merger agreement with Paramount. Final vote results from the Special Meeting are subject to certification by the Company's independent inspector of election and will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on a Form 8-K.

The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2026, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory clearances.

Allen & Company, J.P. Morgan and Evercore are serving as financial advisors to Warner Bros. Discovery and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP are serving as legal counsel.

 

[themidnightlore]

Real talk, can the EU come and ask them to divest things now?
Can we save the Italian FTA channels, the British FTA channels and TVN from Paramount's scrissors?
After nuking Game One out of existence, I'm not trusting them near any TV channel.

 

[RandomMe]

No, WBD-PSKY will be America First only. They will ignore global productions.

Long before the merger, there was a strong divestment in European productions. Israel is another story but then again it's mostly because of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council enabling Israeli cable channels to have a set amount of local content.

During the 2010s we still had the Netherlands and to a lesser extent the UK doing productions for Nickelodeon. Now they don't do anything.

 

[JulianRO]

OFFICIAL STATEMENT:

Also an article by Variety:

Warner Bros. Discovery Shareholders Overwhelmingly Approve Paramount Megadeal, but Vote Against Exit Pay Packages for Zaslav and Other Execs

Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approved the merger with Paramount Skydance but symbolically voted against payout packages for CEO David Zaslav and other WBD top brass.

variety.com

close the merger in July 2026

It still sounds quite early for it to close at that time.

 

[J10]

No, WBD-PSKY will be America First only. They will ignore global productions. David Ellison will erase Looney Tunes and all things WB Animation.

He was talking about the global channels, not the productions. Not to forget they have Network 10 in Australia.

Also, Nickelodeon used to be owned by Warner since their launch (remember Warner Amex Satellite), and until they sold out in the 80s.

 

[RandomMe]

He was talking about the global channels not production. Not to forget they have Network 10 in Australia.

Which is under the same unit as Channel 5 UK.

 

[harry580]

watch this gets rejected by European or Warner bros paramout will end up splitting a couple years later

 

[awinger24]

Boycott Paramount+. Boycott HBO Max.

 

[harry580]

David Ellison is gonna end up like elon musk (he will do more heinous things than elon musk does like allowing offensive content)

 

[RandomMe]

I've seen this coming. The outcome will be negative and the low-priority channels will shut down.

 

[harry580]

can't wait for Warner bros & paramount to produce antisemetisc & political & racist movies like elon musk turned twitter into

 

[Camping My TV Set]

i'm still of the opinion that david ellison's own hubris will be this deal's ultimate undoing. he can barely scrape together the comically overinflated price tag needed for the purchase, should the very likely reality of being stalled past september occur, the ticking fee is gonna kill him

 

[Camping My TV Set]

You know who will close the merger in July 2026 for America 250 because he and the Ellisons always get what they want. RIP WB.

WB has officially died for good. The shareholder vote is the worst thing ever. Long live Ellison Paramount and CBS. RIP Looney Tunes, DC, Cartoon Network, Hanna-Barbera.

i'm gonna try to be as polite as I can: ever since paramount got the upper hand, you have actively been unhelpful to this entire conversation

 

[Moe]

I doubt that is going to change the shareholders' minds because they are very thirsty for money.

Shareholders would eat dollar stew that cooked with US dollars and USDA Prime steak.

Yeah, I told ya - most of WBD shareholders are investors owned, so not surprised at all.

but their vote means nothing and regulators still have to review the merger, also it can be blocked by the court. That happened with other M&A that where shareholders approved at first place.

It don't stop other companies like Netflix or Amazon from interfere with Ellison.