David Zaslav is out of a job. But he’s getting a prodigious sum of $606 million as he leaves Warner Bros. Discovery, the company he fused together and led for more than four years before it agreed to be acquired by David Ellison’s Paramount.
\n\nZaslav, who was Warner Bros. Discovery’s president and CEO, will receive a total of $606.1 million for shares held in the company (including restricted stock units that converted into the right to receive an amount in cash) effective Oct. 6 with the closing of the Paramount-WBD merger, according to an SEC filing Thursday.
\n\nThe total amount includes stock options worth $381.7 million, which is subject to withholding taxes (as is the amount from the RSUs). His proceeds are subject to capital gains taxes. Zaslav also had 14.98 million stock options that became worthless post-merger because they had exercise prices that exceeded the deal’s $31.0167/share acquisition price.
\n\nIn addition, Zaslav has sold a total of nearly $200 million worth of WBD stock since his company clinched the deal with Paramount in February.
\n\nOn Tuesday, Oct. 6, Paramount officially closed the WBD takeover (and swiftly painted “A Skydance Corporation” on the famous Warner Bros. water tower in Burbank).
Original source: https://variety.com/v/tv/