ISS criticizes Warner Bros. Discovery executive pay in $110B merger
Warner Bros. Discovery's plan to pay top executives (especially CEO David Zaslav) huge sums as part of its $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance is not sitting well with Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS).
Even though the merger got shareholder approval in April 2026, ISS says the proposed pay is just too much compared to what other industry leaders make.
ISS deems $887 million pay extremely large
ISS pointed out that Zaslav could receive up to $887 million under the proposed pay packages, which they called "extremely large" and not really tied to how well the company's doing.
They are urging shareholders to vote against these pay packages and even suggested withholding votes from five board members who handle compensation.
Meanwhile, the merger itself faces legal challenges in several US states and still needs approval from European regulators by July 7.