(Reuters) – Discovery Inc shareholders voted Friday to approve the media company’s $43 billion merger with WarnerMedia, moving the deal one step closer to completion.
The outcome was all but assured, as two of Discovery’s major investors, John C. Malone and Advance/Newhouse, agreed to vote their shares in favor of the merger. They together represent 43% of Discovery’s voting shares.
In May, AT&T announced it would spin-off WarnerMedia, whose assets include HBO, CNN and the Warner Bros. studio, and merge it with Discovery. The combination would create one of the world’s largest media companies with a breadth of well-known film franchises and television series, including Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings, “Succession” and the reality-series “90 Day Fiance” and “Property Brothers.”
Discovery shareholders approved charter amendments, a share issuance proposal and golden parachute payments to executives, in case the transaction fails to close.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
