According to regulatory filings disclosed on Monday, David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), is set to receive total compensation of approximately $886.8 million if the company's acquisition by Paramount-Skydance (PSKY) is finalized. Zaslav has been the key figure steering this high-profile media merger.
Upon completion of the deal, Zaslav's compensation package will include:
- Equity awards vesting at closing: $517.2 million - Cash payment: approximately $34.2 million - Health benefits reimbursement: $44.2 million - Tax reimbursement: approximately $335.4 million
In late February, Warner Bros. Discovery agreed to be acquired by Paramount-Skydance in an all-cash deal valued at $31 per share, with the total transaction estimated at around $110 billion.
This agreement concluded a years-long, high-stakes bidding war for control of Warner Bros. between Paramount and streaming giant Netflix, during which both parties repeatedly increased their offers.
Since the deal was announced, Paramount's stock price has given up all its gains and has fallen more than 10% this month.
Meanwhile, Netflix, which withdrew from the bidding, has seen its stock rise approximately 25% over the past month. Warner Bros. Discovery's stock has declined about 4% over the same period.
Under the terms of the deal, Paramount will acquire Warner Bros.' film studio, streaming services, and traditional television channel businesses outright.
In contrast, Netflix's previous proposal was to acquire Paramount's film and streaming assets for $27.75 per share, totaling approximately $82.7 billion, with plans to spin off the traditional TV assets into a separate, publicly traded company.
To facilitate this acquisition, Larry Ellison, Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Oracle, agreed to personally guarantee $40 billion in equity financing. This move was intended to reassure Warner Bros. shareholders concerned about Paramount's financial capacity to complete the transaction. Ellison's son, David, leads Paramount.
Prior to the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Zaslav served as CEO of Discovery and emerged as the central architect throughout the entire merger process.
If the Paramount deal is completed, other top executives at Warner Bros. Discovery are also set to receive substantial "golden parachute" compensation packages:
- Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels: up to approximately $120 million in total - Chief Revenue Officer Bruce Campbell: up to $121.5 million - CEO of Streaming and Interactive Entertainment, Jean-Briac Perrette: up to $142 million - President of International, Gerhard Zeiler: up to $82.6 million
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