Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted overwhelmingly to approve the sale of the company to Paramount Skydance, a decisive milestone in what is set to become the most expensive acquisition in Hollywood history. The deal, valued at approximately $111 billion including debt, will see Paramount pay $31 per share in cash, a premium that helped it see off a rival bid from Netflix earlier this year. In a memo to staff, Paramount chief executive David Ellison hailed the vote as a vote of confidence in his plan to build a next-generation media and entertainment company, one that would better serve creators and consumers alike. Yet the shareholder stamp of approval, while critical, is far from the final curtain on this transaction.

The combined entity would bring together two of Hollywood’s five major studios, amassing a sprawling portfolio that includes Warner Bros.’ film and television operations, the HBO Max streaming service, CNN, TBS and TNT, alongside Paramount’s CBS network, Paramount Pictures, Comedy Central and the Paramount+ platform. Viewed from Washington, the sheer scale of consolidation has already drawn fire from a coalition of First Amendment advocates, unions and more than four thousand Hollywood actors and directors, who have signed an open letter urging regulators to block the merger. The Hart-Scott-Rodino Act requires the U.S. Department of Justice to review the deal for anticompetitive effects, while the Federal Communications Commission must weigh public interest concerns, particularly around media ownership rules. European competition authorities, analysts in London note, are also expected to scrutinise the implications for content pricing and market access on the continent, where streaming wars are intensifying.

From Tel Aviv, attention has focused on the Ellison family’s longstanding ties to Israel. Critics warn that putting CNN and CBS under the same roof as a media empire controlled by Larry Ellison and his son David could compromise editorial independence, especially in coverage of the Middle East. David Ellison has insisted that journalistic autonomy “will absolutely be maintained,” but the pledge has done little to quiet fears about the concentration of news media in the hands of a few powerful actors. In Moscow, state-aligned observers have highlighted the unusual spectacle of a bidding war that saw Netflix bow out, with commentary noting that more than four thousand industry professionals have already mobilised against the union.

Completion of the merger is expected in the third fiscal quarter, provided regulators clear the path. The coming months will test whether the promise of operational synergies and a stronger streaming rival to Netflix, Amazon and Disney can overcome antitrust hurdles and public opposition. For an industry already reshaped by digital disruption, the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal marks a moment of profound realignment—one whose final shape will be determined less by shareholder votes than by the verdict of watchdogs in Washington, Brussels and beyond.