Paramount Skydance officially completed its $81 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, combining two historic film studios with HBO Max, Paramount+, CBS, CNN and a vast library of entertainment franchises under a new company called Skydance.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Paramount Skydance closed its long-planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, completing an $81 billion takeover that creates one of the largest entertainment and media companies in the United States.
The transaction combines Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., two studios whose roots stretch back more than a century, while placing a sweeping collection of film, television, streaming and news properties under common ownership.
The merged company, which will operate as Skydance, now controls HBO Max and Paramount+, along with CBS, HBO, Warner Bros. Television and cable properties that include CNN. Its entertainment holdings include franchises and properties ranging from “Top Gun” and “The Godfather” to “Harry Potter,” DC Comics and “Game of Thrones.”
The deal values Warner Bros. Discovery at approximately $81 billion in equity and roughly $110 billion when debt is included, according to Paramount. Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders are receiving slightly more than $31 in cash for each share following the closing adjustment.
Warner Bros. Discovery shares stopped trading after Monday’s session and are scheduled to be suspended from Nasdaq following completion of the merger.
The combined company will be led by Skydance founder David Ellison, who becomes chairman and CEO, alongside Ynon Kreiz, the former Mattel chief executive who has been named co-CEO.
Ellison said in announcing completion of the transaction that the merger joins major creative assets with the technology and financial resources needed to compete in a rapidly changing media business.
The company’s new structure brings together two global streaming services, two major Hollywood studios, extensive television operations and two prominent American news organizations, CBS News and CNN.
It also substantially expands Ellison’s position in Hollywood only about a year after Skydance completed its $8 billion acquisition of Paramount.
That transaction transformed Skydance from a film and television production company into the owner of Paramount Pictures, CBS and Paramount+. Ellison then moved quickly toward Warner Bros. Discovery, setting off what became a lengthy fight over ownership of one of Hollywood’s most valuable collections of media properties.
The battle involved competing bidders, regulatory reviews, lawsuits and widespread concern within the entertainment industry about further consolidation among major studios.
The final agreement calls for Skydance to release at least 30 theatrical films annually and produce more than 180 television shows and series, commitments made as the company sought regulatory approval.
Paramount has said it expects more than $6 billion in savings from the combination, including consolidation of technology systems, real estate, purchasing and corporate operations.
The scale of those expected savings has also fueled concern about potential job losses as two large companies integrate overlapping operations.
Thousands of Hollywood workers and prominent filmmakers opposed the merger, arguing that combining two major studios could reduce competition for actors, writers, directors and other creative workers.
The transaction ultimately cleared regulatory review in nearly 70 jurisdictions, including the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, China, Canada and Australia.
A group of state attorneys general nevertheless challenged the deal on antitrust grounds before reaching a settlement that allowed the merger to proceed.
Under the settlement, Skydance agreed to additional domestic production commitments and other conditions intended to preserve competition and employment. The company also agreed to maintain editorial-independence safeguards involving CNN and CBS News.
The combination significantly reshapes the competitive landscape of Hollywood.
Paramount and Warner Bros. had been two of the remaining major legacy studios competing independently alongside Disney, Universal and Sony. Their consolidation reduces that group while giving Skydance considerably greater scale in its competition with Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Apple and YouTube for audiences and advertising dollars.
Streaming will be one of the most closely watched areas.
HBO Max gives the new company one of the industry’s best-known premium streaming brands, while Paramount+ adds another global subscription service with programming from CBS, Paramount Pictures and the company’s television studios.
The company has not indicated that the services will immediately be combined, and both brands are expected to continue operating separately for now.
News operations will also attract scrutiny.
The acquisition brings CNN and CBS News under the same corporate umbrella, creating an unusually large news portfolio within a single entertainment conglomerate.
CNN chief Mark Thompson is expected to remain in his position, while CBS News will continue operating under its existing leadership structure.
The deal’s completion ends a turbulent period for Warner Bros. Discovery, which itself was created in 2022 when Discovery merged with WarnerMedia.
That company spent years trying to reduce debt and reorganize its streaming and cable operations as traditional television audiences declined and streaming competition intensified.
Ellison’s Skydance began pursuing Warner Bros. Discovery soon after completing the Paramount acquisition, triggering what the Associated Press described as a roughly year-long battle over the company’s future.
The completed takeover now leaves Ellison overseeing a media empire spanning theatrical films, television production, streaming, broadcast television, cable networks, sports and news.
For Hollywood, the closing marks more than another corporate transaction.
Two studios that spent generations competing for audiences, talent and box-office success are now part of the same company, giving Skydance control of one of the broadest entertainment portfolios assembled under a single owner.
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