Shareholders 'overwhelmingly' approve Paramount takeover of Warner Bros

The multibillion-pound Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery has come even closer to becoming a reality after shareholders voted to accept the offer.

The shareholders, who own Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), voted "overwhelmingly" to approve the adoption of the merger agreement with Paramount, WBD said.

A merger of WBD and Paramount Skydance is one of the biggest media deals in history, with significant impacts on TV, filmmaking and the possible future of the cinema.

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A Paramount-Warner combination encompasses two of Hollywood's five legacy studios.

In total, the deal has been valued at $110bn (£81.4bn) - $31 per WBD share and additional fees.

Thursday's vote was described as "another key milestone toward completing this historic transaction" by WBD.

The deal, it said, "will deliver exceptional value to our stockholders" and will be completed between July and September this year, subject to regulatory approval.

"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," the statement continued.

While both Democrats and Republicans have raised concerns the merger could result in higher prices and fewer choices for customers, WBD on Thursday said the combined company will "expand consumer choice and benefit the global creative talent community".

Why does it matter?

A combined Warner Bros and Paramount has huge potential to reshape Hollywood and change film and TV production.

Paramount Skydance will now own CNN, as well as CBS News, sparking concern about concentrating news services within a small number of companies.

The company is also headed by David Ellison, the son of Trump ally Larry Ellison, who put up tens of billions of dollars to satisfy funding guarantees for the WBD bid.

Cinema operators have also expressed concern that combining ​the large Hollywood studios could cost jobs and reduce the ​number ⁠of films released in theatres.

Harry Potter, Superman and Barbie movies - as well as hit TV series like Succession - will join Paramount's content library.

Paramount's line-up of titles include Top Gun and The Godfather as well as the Paramount+ streaming service.

(c) Sky News 2026: Shareholders 'overwhelmingly' approve Paramount takeover of Warner Bros