As Paramount Sky (PSKY.US) acquisition transaction progresses, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD.US) CEO and other executives collectively sold over 200 million dollars worth of company stocks.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav sold over $1.13 billion of company stock this week as part of cashing out some of his holdings ahead of the company's impending acquisition by Paramount Skydance. According to disclosures, this reduction only represents a portion of Zaslav's holdings. Based on the acquisition price proposed by Paramount, he still holds over $2.2 billion worth of common stock and could potentially receive hundreds of millions of dollars in additional stock rewards after the deal is completed. On Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery's stock closed at $28, significantly lower than Paramount's proposed acquisition price of $31 per share, which means Zaslav's selling price was significantly discounted compared to the potential acquisition price. Doug Arthur, media analyst at Huber Research Partners, said, "For a deal that is not expected to encounter too many obstacles, a discount of around 10% seems quite large." In addition to Zaslav, 8 other insiders sold over $98 million in stock this week, with CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels selling nearly $28 million in shares. Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment on this. Some of the shares sold by Zaslav this week came from compensation rewards he received this year. The company's board had previously granted him over $110 million in stock rewards for achieving established strategic and financial goals. Additionally, the company awarded him new performance stock rewards last year, and as the company's stock price surged on the back of the acquisition news, the value of these rewards quickly rose to hundreds of millions of dollars. Since WarnerMedia and Discovery merged to form Warner Bros. Discovery in 2022, Zaslav's management has faced criticism from some investors. However, with the company becoming an acquisition target, its stock price has risen significantly, leading to a substantial increase in his holdings value. According to Paramount's final acquisition proposal, Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders will receive close to a 150% premium compared to the stock price before acquisition rumors first surfaced in September last year. Mario Gabelli, founder of Gamco Investors, said in an interview, "The real winner is Zaslav. He successfully drove a bidding war, and the company's stock price performed very well." Throughout the bidding process, Paramount emphasized that its offer was superior to Netflix's and believed that regulatory approval would be easier. Netflix had reached a preliminary acquisition agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery in December 2025, but due to its larger user base in the streaming market, the deal might face stricter antitrust scrutiny. Currently, Paramount has received antitrust approval from the US Department of Justice, but still needs regulatory approval from the UK, Europe, and some state attorneys general. According to the agreement, if the deal fails due to regulatory reasons, Paramount will have to pay Warner Bros. Discovery a $7 billion breakup fee. The company expects the transaction to be completed in the third quarter of this year.