{"text":[[{"start":7.6,"text":"Warner Bros Discovery shareholders have approved its $111bn takeover by Paramount Skydance, but lodged a protest vote against plans to pay chief executive David Zaslav a “golden parachute” potentially worth more than $700mn."}],[{"start":24.65,"text":"The decision by investors to back the Paramount deal brings a merger that has rocked Hollywood one step closer to fruition. Paramount had been locked in a bidding war with Netflix to acquire WBD since last autumn, finally winning the auction with a knockout bid of $31 a share in February."}],[{"start":43.25,"text":"“We appreciate the support and confidence our stockholders have placed in us,” said WBD chair Samuel Di Piazza. “With Paramount, we look forward to creating an exceptional combined company that will expand consumer choice and benefit the global creative talent community.”"}],[{"start":59.3,"text":"However, investors rejected executive pay proposals that could see Zaslav make more than $700mn, albeit in a nonbinding advisory vote. The breakdown of votes has not yet been disclosed."}],[{"start":72.25,"text":"The WBD chief is set to receive $34.2mn in cash severance payments, $115.8mn in vested stock and $517.2mn in unvested share awards, according to past company filings. "}],[{"start":87.9,"text":"In addition, Zaslav is in line to receive estimated tax reimbursements of up to $335.4mn, although these will fall over time as more shares vest and go to zero if the deal’s completion gets pushed back to 2027. WBD said it expected the deal to complete in the third quarter. "}],[{"start":106.80000000000001,"text":"Zaslav won plaudits from shareholders for overseeing an auction that ended with a bid more than three times higher than where WBD’s shares were trading at this time last year. "}],[{"start":118.00000000000001,"text":"But his pay has been a contentious issue for years. Zaslav was awarded a stock-options-heavy package worth $247mn in 2021. "}],[{"start":128.05,"text":"The WBD takeover is now in the hands of regulators, including the US Department of Justice and competition authorities in the UK and EU."}],[{"start":136.4,"text":"Resistance to the deal is mounting in Hollywood. More than 1,000 actors, screenwriters, directors and others — including Glenn Close, Emma Thompson and Ben Stiller — this month signed an open letter opposing it."}],[{"start":150.6,"text":"There are concerns that the sale of WBD to Paramount, which is planning to make significant cost cuts to hit a $6bn synergy target, will lead to extensive job losses and fewer options for film and TV makers."}],[{"start":164.45,"text":"Paramount has committed to making at least 30 movies every year and showing them all in cinemas."}],[{"start":170.45,"text":"In a statement on Thursday, Jane Fonda’s Committee for the First Amendment — comprised of more than 3,000 actors, writers, journalists, creators and people in the entertainment industry — lamented shareholders’ decision to approve the deal. "}],[{"start":185.75,"text":"It was a “serious setback for our industry, for the workers who sustain it, for consumers and for the fundamental democratic values that depend on a diverse and independent media landscape”, the group said. "}],[{"start":205.65,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1776994549_6267.mp3"}