Warner Bros. Discovery CEO’s Stock Sales Amid Merger Uncertainty

David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), has sold a total of roughly $195 million in company stock since the pending merger with Paramount Skydance was announced. The latest transaction, disclosed in an SEC filing, involved the sale of 773,173 shares for an aggregate market value of $21.7 million. Earlier sales included $59.5 million in July and $114 million in March. The sales were executed under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on March 12, 2026, with a termination date set for August 2026.

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WBD’s $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance remains in legal limbo after a lawsuit filed by 12 state attorneys general seeks to block the deal on antitrust grounds. The case is slated for trial in March, with the parties agreeing that the closing could occur no later than five days after the trial outcome or by June 1, 2027, whichever comes first. The merger agreement also imposes a “ticking fee” of $7 million per day beginning in early October if the deal is not finalized, pressuring both companies toward a settlement.

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Zaslav’s 2025 compensation package totaled $165 million, including a one-time grant of $109.6 million in stock options for his role in planning a split of WBD into two publicly traded entities. In non-binding shareholder votes, investors rejected both the proposed golden-parachute payout and the 2025 compensation plan.

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta labeled Paramount’s threat to relocate operations out of California as “blackmail,” while indicating openness to settlement discussions that would involve structural remedies such as divestitures.

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Sources differ on the exact size of Zaslav’s potential golden-parachute payout if the merger closes: one report cites a minimum of $550 million, while another specifies at least $551.5 million. The precise figure remains unclear pending final merger terms.

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