Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has made a significant financial move as the company faces a major lawsuit over its proposed merger with Paramount Skydance. The companies confirmed the merger in February 2026 after months of corporate battles between major studios to acquire Warner Bros.
David Zaslav is cashing out as Warner Bros. Discovery’s $110 billion deal hits trouble
Outlets such as Deadline and TheWrap report that Zaslav is cashing out nearly 2.2 million Warner Bros. shares, currently valued at over $59 million, according to an SEC filing on Monday. This comes after Zaslav sold $114 million worth of WBD stock (about four million shares) in March.
However, WBD’s planned merger with Paramount faces a major challenge in the form of a lawsuit filed by 12 states. Hours before the reports about Zaslav selling additional WBD shares came out, California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington sued to block the $110 billion deal.
“The unlawful merger of these two entertainment behemoths would lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the U.S.,” Rob Bonta, the Attorney General of California, said in a statement (via WSJ). The lawsuit came amid reports that Paramount CEO David Ellison was facing pressure to move the company out of California (via Fox Business).
Deadline reports that Zaslav acquired the WBD shares between 2023 and 2026 and estimates that the executive might make around $800 million in compensation associated with the merger. Notably, Zaslav became the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery following a merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery, Inc. Previously, he had served as the CEO of the latter company since 2006.
As mentioned above, Paramount emerged as the leading contender for a merger with WBD after fending off strong competition from Netflix and Comcast.
Originally reported by Tamal Kundu on ComingSoon.
