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Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is trading astir $59.5 cardinal successful institution stock, his latest move to rate successful connected nan company’s banal rebound.
The waste of nan astir 2.2 cardinal shares was revealed successful an SEC filing connected Monday, hours aft 12 states revenge an antitrust suit intended to artifact Paramount’s $110 cardinal acquisition of WBD.
WBD shares person sagged 6% successful 2026 to date, ending Monday’s trading time astatine $27.09, but they person much than doubled since connection emerged past autumn of acquisition liking from aggregate suitors. Competitive bidding among Netflix, Comcast and Paramount ended pinch only Paramount near standing, pinch nan process reviving WBD’s long-moribund stock.
Zaslav’s proceeds from nan latest stock sale correspond conscionable a fraction of nan eventual reward he will person upon nan merger’s close. Based connected a number of variables, his eventual take-home compensation tied to nan merger unsocial could attack $800 million, nan bulk of that successful nan shape of a banal award.
The stock waste follows a erstwhile 1 successful March, erstwhile Zaslav announced plans to waste astir 4 cardinal shares, netting much than $114 million. The shares had been acquired betwixt 2023 and 2026.
Zaslav was installed arsenic caput of WBD successful April 2022 erstwhile nan institution was formed retired of nan merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery Communications. Zaslav had been CEO of Discovery since 2007.
Along pinch Zaslav’s compensation, which has routinely classed adjacent nan apical of nan ranks for firm execs successful nan U.S., others connected nan guidance squad person besides made moves to capitalize connected nan revival of WBD shares. The sellers included CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, Chief Revenue & Strategy Officer Bruce Campbell, Chief Accounting Officer Lori Locke, President of International Gerhard Zeiler, Global Streaming President & CEO JB Perrette, Chief Legal Officer Priya Aiyar and HR main Amy Girdwood.
