David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, sold just over $30 million worth of his stock holdings in the media conglomerate.
Zaslav sold 2.564 million shares of WBD Series A common stock on Dec. 16 at an average weighted price of $11.73/share, totaling $30,075,720, according to an SEC filing Wednesday. Zaslav acquired the shares between Feb. 21, 2014, and Feb. 28, 2022, as part of his compensation. The exec sold the shares “in connection with year-end income tax and gift/estate planning activities,” according to the filing.
Following the sale, Zaslav owns 3.45 million shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, currently worth more than $38 million.
Warner Bros. Discovery, parent of HBO, streaming service Max, Warner Bros. Pictures and cable nets including CNN, TNT and TBS, saw its stock get a lift last week after announcing it would reorganize into two divisions: one comprising its streaming business (plus HBO) and production studios, and the other composed of the rest of its cable TV portfolio. The reorg, expected to be complete by mid-2025, will “create opportunities as we evaluate all avenues to deliver significant shareholder value,” Zaslav said — prompting speculation that the company could sell or spin off its cable networks. WBD’s announcement came three weeks after Comcast said it planned to spin off the bulk of its NBCUniversal cable networks (except Bravo) into a publicly traded company owned by existing shareholders.
Zaslav’s 2023 pay package was worth $49.7 million, up 26.5% from the year prior, according to the company’s 2024 proxy statement. His compensation totaled $39.3 million in 2022, after he received an astonishing $246.6 million in 2021 (an amount that included $203 million in stock-option grants).
For 2023, Zaslav had a base salary of $3 million, stock awards valued at $23.1 million, a cash bonus of $22 million and $1.6 million in other compensation (including $705,182 for personal security services and $767,908 for his personal use of the company’s private jet).
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