Business
Warner Bros investors give thumbs up to £81.4bn Paramount takeover
Warner Bros Discovery shareholders have given the green light to the firm’s 110 billion US dollar (£81.4 billion) takeover by Paramount Skydance in a move paving the way for a deal set to shake up Hollywood.
The overwhelming majority of Warner Bros shareholders voted in support of selling the entire business to Paramount for 31 US dollars (£23) a share, the company said.
But there are still regulatory hurdles for the deal to face, with authorities in the US and UK set to investigate any competition concerns.
Warner Bros is hoping to complete the agreement during the third quarter.
Paramount agreed to buy Warner Bros in February after triumphing over Netflix in a lengthy bidding battle.
Unlike Netflix, Paramount bid to buy all of Warner Bros’ operations, including networks such as CNN and Discovery, as well as HBO Max, DC Studios and popular titles such as Harry Potter.
It will see them added to Paramount’s CBS and combine two of Hollywood’s last five remaining studios.
The Paramount buyout of Warner’s business will significantly reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape.
Warner Bros films such as Superman, Barbie and One Battle After Another, as well as hit TV series such as The White Lotus and Succession, would join Paramount’s extensive library including the Mission: Impossible and Star Trek franchises.
But there have been worries raised by legislators and industry trade groups that yet more consolidation in the sector would concentrate power further in the hands of a small number of players.
It is unusual for a senior figure at the Bank to be so forthright on market movements.
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People walk past a Nike store in New York City, on April 2, 2025.
Kylie Cooper | Reuters
Nike announced a new round of layoffs Thursday affecting approximately 1,400 employees across the organization, mostly concentrated in its technology department.
In a note from COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy, the company said the layoffs were part of Nike’s broader “Win Now” turnaround strategy aiming to reshape its technology team, modernize its Air manufacturing, move some of its Converse Footwear operations and integrate its materials supply chain work into its footwear and apparel supply chain teams.
“Collectively, these changes will result in a reduction of approximately 1,400 roles in global operations, with the majority in technology,” Alagirisamy wrote. “These reductions are very hard for the teammates directly affected and for the teams around them, too.”
A Nike spokesperson said the layoffs are about better positioning the organization for the current pace of sports and accelerating its growth. The layoffs affect employees across North America, Asia and Europe and represent less than 2% of the company’s total global head count.
“This is not a new direction,” Alagirisamy wrote. “It is the next phase of the work already underway.”
Affected employees will be notified beginning Thursday, Nike added.
CEO Elliott Hill has been working to turn Nike around after years of slumping sales. While Hill has made some initial progress, it’s come with some bumps in the road.
Nike announced 775 job cuts in January, primarily at its U.S.-based distribution centers, due to the company’s work in accelerating its use of automation. At the time, the company said the cuts are part of Nike’s goal to return to “long-term, profitable growth.”
Those layoffs came on top of a round of cuts last summer that affected less than 1% of Nike’s corporate staff as part of the company’s efforts to realign the business.
In its third fiscal quarter earnings report last month, the retailer warned that sales will continue to fall for the rest of the year, primarily led by an anticipated 20% decline in China during the current quarter.
— CNBC’s Jessica Golden contributed to this report.
A key reason for the layoffs is Meta’s increased spending in other areas of the company, including AI, for which it will this year spend $135bn (£100bn). This is roughly equal to the amount it has spent on AI in the previous three years combined, according to a person who viewed the memo.
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