Paramount completes Warner Bros takeover to create Skydance media giant

Paramount has completed its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, creating a new entertainment company called Skydance Corporation and combining two of Hollywood’s most established studios after months of bidding, regulatory scrutiny and litigation. The transaction is valued at roughly $81 billion before Warner Bros.

Discovery’s debt and about $110 billion to $111 billion when that debt is included, according to the publishers. Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders are to receive about $31 per share in cash, while the new company’s shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD.

The merger brings together Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, as well as CBS News and CNN, HBO and CBS. The combined catalogue includes franchises such as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones and Mission: Impossible.

Paramount’s Paramount+ and Warner’s HBO Max are expected to be merged over time. David Ellison, whose family has ties to US President Donald Trump, will serve as chairman and chief executive. Ynon Kreiz, the former Mattel chief, will act as co-chief executive with responsibility for day-to-day operations and integration.

Ellison called the closing a historic moment for the company and the wider film industry. The deal followed a bidding contest with Netflix, which initially sought to buy part of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Paramount ultimately prevailed in February. A federal judge in California approved a settlement with Paramount and 12 states less than a week before the transaction closed, clearing the final legal obstacle described in the reports. The settlement includes safeguards concerning film production and news operations.

The Guardian reported that Skydance must release at least 30 films and more than 180 television programmes each year, while CNN and CBS News must maintain independent editorial boards. A trustee will monitor compliance. CNN chief Mark Thompson is remaining in his role and said he had confidence the new leadership understood the importance of independent journalism.

Skydance projects annual revenue of nearly $70 billion and says it is targeting more than $6 billion in savings within three years. The company is backed by $47 billion in new equity from investors including the Ellison family, RedBird Capital and sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Larry Ellison, David’s father and Oracle’s co-founder, provided major financing and a guarantee to lenders.

Opponents in the film industry argue that consolidation could mean fewer films, job cuts and weaker competition. Media groups have also raised concerns about CNN’s editorial independence, while state attorneys general warned that the merger could harm cinemas, cable distributors and audiences. The settlement does not amount to an endorsement by California’s attorney general, according to The Guardian, leaving Skydance under continuing scrutiny as it integrates the businesses.