Zaslav exits Warner Bros Discovery with $606m as Paramount closes takeover
David Zaslav left Warner Bros Discovery with $606.1 million for his shares when Paramount closed its takeover on October 6, 2026.
Zaslav was president and chief executive of Warner Bros Discovery before the sale. He exited as the company passed to David Ellison's Paramount, according to Variety. Paramount paid $31.00 in cash for each outstanding Warner Bros Discovery share, as set out in its acquisition announcement.
The $606.1 million covered shares held, including restricted stock units, meaning share awards that convert to cash on a set date. That conversion took effect with the closing. Stock options worth $381.7 million made up most of the total.
Not every option paid out. About 14.98 million of Zaslav's options ended up worthless because their exercise prices, meaning the set price to buy the shares, were higher than the $31.0167 per-share acquisition price. He is out. The maths was brutal.
Zaslav had already sold large blocks before the close. He sold nearly $200 million worth of Warner Bros Discovery stock after the company agreed to the Paramount deal in February. He then sold another $27.1 million in stock in August, as reported by Variety. That August sale came under a Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement, a pre-set plan that lets executives sell shares on a fixed schedule, adopted on March 12, 2026.
Earlier filings had pointed to an even larger possible haul. Under proposed pay packages, Zaslav could have received up to $887 million if the sale to Paramount Skydance was completed, as reported by Reuters. A separate March filing put expected cash severance, meaning pay triggered by leaving after a takeover, at about $34.2 million.
Shareholders pushed back. At the annual meeting in June, a majority voted against golden-parachute packages, meaning payouts triggered by the merger, for Zaslav and other named executives. They also voted against 2025 pay plans. Proxy adviser ISS, which guides big investors on votes, had urged shareholders to reject the merger-linked pay.
The deal itself was huge. Warner Bros shareholders backed the $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance in April, according to Reuters. Paramount confirmed completion on October 6 in a press release titled "PARAMOUNT COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY, CREATING A NEW GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT LEADER."
Zaslav was not the only exit. Chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels, chief revenue and strategy officer Bruce Campbell, film chiefs Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca, and networks and streaming distribution president Scott Miller also left with the merger. Former streaming and games chief JB Perrette moved to Skydance as co-chair and chief business officer of its TV and direct-to-consumer streaming divisions.
What makes this stand out is the turnaround Zaslav leaves behind. Warner Bros Discovery cut gross debt from $53 billion in mid-2022 to $33.1 billion as of June 2026. It moved from a pro-forma EBITDA loss of about $2.1 billion for 2022 to an EBITDA profit of $1.4 billion in 2025. EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax and other charges, a common measure of operating performance.
For viewers, this means one owner for two large catalogues. The credits will change. The crews stay the same size until the new owner sets its slate.
