Zaslav receives about $606 million for WBD shares and options as Paramount deal closes

Left · 1David Zaslav, who led Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), will receive a total of $606.1 million for shares held in the company, including restricted stock units converted into cash, effective Oct. 6 when the Paramount–WBD merger closed, according to an SEC filing on Thursday reported by Variety. 1 Left · 2Variety says the total includes stock options worth $381.7 million. The Hollywood Reporter, citing Zaslav's Form 4, says he sold shares worth more than $224 million, while in-the-money options netted about $381 million more. 1 2 Centre · 1Deadline reports he handed over his WBD shares to Paramount at $31 each, that his stock options vested immediately as the deal closed, and that the merger was unveiled in February. 3

Mixed · 2The Hollywood Reporter puts the takeover at $111 billion, and Deadline at $110 billion. The Hollywood Reporter adds that Paramount paid $31 plus a small ticking fee per share. 2 3 Left · 1Variety adds that Zaslav has also sold nearly $200 million of WBD stock since the Paramount deal was clinched in February. 1 Left · 1The Hollywood Reporter says the stock and option payout makes up the largest part of his severance package, which also includes an unusual tax reimbursement perk, and that final severance terms, including a cash payment and health benefits, were not disclosed. 2

Left · 2Other executives are also leaving. Variety lists CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, Bruce Campbell, Pamela Abdy, Michael De Luca and Scott Miller. The Hollywood Reporter says other top executives received payouts of nine figures, while Casey Bloys, JB Perrette and Channing Dungey are joining the new company. 1 2 Left · 1At WBD's June shareholder meeting, a majority voted against golden-parachute packages for Zaslav and other named executives and against their 2025 compensation plans, which Variety describes as symbolic. 1 Left · 3All three outlets note that Zaslav more than doubled the number of WBD employees holding equity, so staff beyond the top executives also benefit. 1 3 2

Left · 1Variety says Zaslav cut jobs and costs and cut gross debt from $53 billion in mid-2022 to $33.1 billion as of June 2026. It also says his 2025 pay totaled $165 million, including a $109.6 million one-time option grant tied to a planned split of the company that did not proceed because of the Paramount deal. 1 Centre · 1Deadline says Zaslav and the board rejected a series of offers from David Ellison that began at $18 a share, and that Paramount added sweeteners including a ticking fee of about $7 million a day from Oct. 1 and Larry Ellison backstopping the equity financing. 3