Topline
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was offered a compensation package of “several hundred million dollars” if Paramount’s hostile takeover of the company was completed, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday, though he stands to earn just as much if a Netflix deal is approved.
Warner Bros. Discovery disclosed Zaslav would receive more than $500 million in equity if Netflix’s bid closes.
Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery
Key Facts
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Zaslav told Warner Bros. Discovery’s board on Sept. 25 that Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison and Ellison’s father, billionaire Oracle chairman Larry Ellison, offered Zaslav a compensation package worth “several hundred million dollars.”
Zaslav told the board he informed the Ellisons that it would be “inappropriate to discuss any such arrangements at that time,” Warner Bros. Discovery disclosed.
The proposed pay deal came just a week after David Ellison pitched an initial offer to Zaslav for Paramount to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, according to the filing.
David Ellison offered Zaslav the roles of co-CEO and co-chair of the board of the combined company after Paramount submitted a second proposal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery on Sept. 30.
Big Number
$51.9 million. That’s how much Zaslav was compensated in Warner Bros. Discovery’s fiscal year 2024, according to the company.