Amid the new lawsuit from 12 U.S. state attorneys general seeking to block the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery to Paramount, WBD CEO David Zaslav is continuing to cash out more of his holdings ahead of his planned departure.
After selling $114 million worth of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in March, Zaslav has filed to sell an additional 2.18 million shares of WBD stock, valued at $59.47 million, according to an SEC filing submitted Monday.
Should the Paramount-Warner merger survive the state attorneys general’s new lawsuit, those stock sales would come on top of a golden parachute package Zaslav negotiated as part of the Paramount Skydance deal, reportedly valued at more than $500 million.
The CEO received a 2025 pay package worth $165 million, including $109 million in stock awards, as Warner Bros. Discovery put itself up for sale last September.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the lawsuit seeking to block the Paramount-Warner merger on Monday, with AGs from 11 other Democrat-controlled states partnering on the legal action.
Opponents of the merger, which include unions like the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood Teamsters as well as trade orgs like Cinema United, have argued that the merger will lead to fewer film and television projects that employ creative and production workers in the entertainment industry, as well as fewer films for movie theaters and entertainment options for consumers.
Paramount Skydance has sought to close the deal by the end of September, as their agreement with Warner Bros. includes a 25-cent-per-share “ticking fee” to shareholders for every quarter after that in which the deal fails to close as well as a $7 billion termination fee to Warner Bros. if the merger is blocked. In addition to the state AG lawsuit, U.K. culture minister Lisa Nandy has signaled this month that she is strongly considering a legal challenge as well.
Beyond the merger, Zaslav enjoyed a successful 2025 as head of Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Television-produced HBO series “The Pitt” took top honors at the Emmys, while the studio’s film division found awards success with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” and the horror hits “Sinners” from Ryan Coogler and “Weapons” from Zach Cregger. Together, the films won a record-tying 11 Oscars, including best picture and best director for “One Battle After Another” and best original screenplay and best actor for “Sinners.” The studio also enjoyed a strong run at the box office, posting a record seven consecutive releases with opening weekends of at least $40 million.
But the film division has fallen on harder times in 2026, with seven consecutive releases opening below $40 million, including the high-profile flops “The Bride!” and “Supergirl.” The studio’s highest-grossing film of the year has been Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights,” with $241.6 million worldwide. Still, the studio is hoping to end the year on a high note with films including Alejandro Iñárritu’s potential Oscar contender “Digger” in October and the highly anticipated “Dune: Part Three” in December.
