Warner Bros. Discovery held a shareholder vote on Thursday, announcing that shareholders approved the $111 billion acquisition of the company by Paramount, amounting to $31 per share.
According to The Associated Press, late last year, Warner Bros. almost struck a $72 billion deal with Netflix, but then Paramount offered more money.
The deal combines two major Hollywood studios and brings CNN under the same ownership, with David Ellison, the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, set to lead the company.
Ellison has a goal of releasing 30 movies a year between Paramount and Warner, according to The Associated Press.
Under the Netflix plan, CNN would have become an independent entity; under Paramount, it remains integrated with the parent company.
Together, the two studios would own intellectual property ranging from “SpongeBob Squarepants” to “Harry Potter.”
Paramount would also take over assets like TNT, Food Network, Cartoon Network and Animal Planet, according to Fox Business.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav could receive up to $887 million if the sale is completed. A majority of shareholders voted against this compensation, but the vote is nonbinding, meaning Warner Bros. still has the final say, per the Los Angeles Times.
According to CNN, the vote was a pro forma and somewhat anticlimactic, but still necessary.
moment in the monthslong struggle for control of WBD, one of the biggest media companies in the world.
The merger still requires final approval from the U.S. Justice Department and international regulators before it can be completed.
Per CNN, some state AGs are monitoring that decision an the deal package.
A group of at least 4,194 filmmakers, directors and actors is opposed to the deal, citing the threat of lost jobs, higher costs for consumers, and fewer TV shows and movies.
An open letter from the group reads, “As filmmakers, documentarians and professionals across the movie and television industry, we write to express our unequivocal opposition to the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger.”