Warner Bros CEO to pocket up to $887 million from Paramount deal

March 17 (Reuters) – Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav is likely to receive up to $887 million after completion of the media company’s sale to Paramount Skydance, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.

WBD last month agreed to be acquired by Paramount Skydance in a $110 billion deal, ending a high-stakes bidding war after Netflix walked away from its agreement with the HBO Max owner.

* Zaslav is expected to get cash severance of about $34.2million, including salary continuation and bonus componentstriggered by a change-in-control termination. * The pay also includes $115.8 million in vested equity. * The WBD CEO is set to receive $517.2 million in unvestedshare awards – future stock grants that would be triggered whenthe sale goes through. * The payout includes estimated tax reimbursements of about$335 million for Zaslav. This payment is based on tax-code rules”that are expected to cause it to significantly decline with thepassage of time,” the company said in the filing. * The tax payout will be zero if the completion of the dealgets pushed into 2027. * Paramount expects the deal to close in the third quarterthis year.

(Reporting by Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)