Overview
- Warner Bros. Discovery, which on Thursday began mailing its definitive proxy, set a special meeting for April 23 at 10 a.m. ET for shareholders of record as of March 20 to vote on the sale.
- WBD investors would receive $31 in cash per share, a roughly 147% premium to the pre-bid price, and the company’s board urged a yes vote after both boards approved the deal.
- Paramount arranged $47 billion in equity backed by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital and $54 billion in debt from Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo, with the combined company projected to carry about $79 billion in net debt.
- The merger pact includes a 25 cent per share quarterly ticking fee for WBD holders if closing slips past Sept. 30 and a $7 billion payment to WBD if regulators block the transaction.
- U.S. and international antitrust reviews are underway, with the DOJ signaling no fast track and Canada’s Competition Bureau examining local market effects, as WBD cites about $6 billion in expected cost savings and Los Angeles County orders a study of potential job impacts.