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Stockholders expressed heavy dissatisfaction pinch nan 2025 compensation package of Warner Bros. Discovery’s main executive David Zaslav successful a non-binding ballot astatine nan company’s yearly gathering this week.
In an SEC filing Friday, nan institution said 84.3% of votes formed successful nan yearly say-on-pay tally were against nan package, meaning conscionable 15.7% supported it.
That’s highly debased for firm America but in statement pinch nan mini support for Zaslav’s aureate parachute if and erstwhile WBD’s merger pinch Paramount closes. His exit package was put to a abstracted ballot astatine a typical gathering successful April wherever shareholders approved WBD’s waste to nan David Ellison-led company.
Paramount is successful nan heavy of regulatory approvals this summertime and has said it expects to adjacent nan woody successful nan 3rd quarter.
Zaslav saw his 2025 salary package triple to $165 million from $51.9 cardinal successful 2024 connected action awards weighted astatine $109.6 million. Of votes formed astatine nan yearly meeting, those “for” nan salary totaled 244,543,743, votes “against” were 1,313,562,677.
Leading shareholder advisor Institutional Shareholder Services, which issues voting recommendations pinch elaborate study up of stockholder meetings, said Zaslav’s 2025 salary “remains outsized and is not sufficiently capacity based.” It noted years of debased shareholder support for his pay, including conscionable 40% support astatine nan 2025 yearly meeting, and said nan board’s compensation committee “demonstrated mediocre responsiveness to past year’s grounded say-on-pay vote.”
CEO pay received 53% support and 51% percent support successful 2024 and 2023, respectively.
As for nan merger payout, nan Paramount woody would trigger a windfall including equity weighted astatine $517.2 million, $34.2 cardinal successful rate severance and perquisites weighted astatine $44.2 million. The adaptable portion is simply a costs of up to $334 cardinal to screen Zaslav’s taxation deed connected nan package, which ISS called “extraordinary” and “one of nan highest aureate parachute estimates ever observed.”
