David Ellison is celebrating a major milestone in Paramount Skydance’s planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
WBD shareholders voted for the Paramount deal in a special meeting on Thursday morning, prompting the Paramount CEO to take a victory lap.
“We are grateful for the trust and confidence shareholders have placed in our leadership team and in our plan to combine our organizations to build a next-generation media and entertainment company — one that better serves both the creative community and consumers around the world,” Ellison said in a memo to employees, which was obtained by Business Insider.
Ellison also thanked Paramount staffers for “the exceptional work happening across our teams,” highlighting the success of the “Scream 7” horror movie in theaters as well as viewership of shows like “Landman” and sports on CBS.
“These achievements reflect not only the strength of our portfolio, but the talent, creativity and commitment of our people,” Ellison told employees.
The Paramount-WBD mega-merger still requires regulatory approval, and while analysts widely expect the process to be smooth in the US, the deal could face challenges abroad or from state attorneys general.
Some top Hollywood stars are against the Paramount-WBD deal, including “The Pitt” star Noah Wyle and “The Sopranos” creator David Chase. More than 4,000 people signed a letter saying that this deal “would further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape” and lead to “fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences” in the US and abroad.
Read the full memo from Ellison here:
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