Paramount Closes $110B Warner Bros. Takeover, Becomes Skydance

Paramount Skydance has completed its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. The combined company will be known simply as Skydance.

The deal, one of the largest in media history, closed Tuesday. Shares of the combined company moved from the Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange, where they begin trading under the ticker SKYD.

The merger brings together the studios behind “Mission: Impossible,” “Harry Potter” and DC Studios. It also folds in television and streaming brands including CBS, CNN, Paramount+ and HBO Max, and hands CEO David Ellison control of one of the world’s largest entertainment companies.

The final legal barriers fell after settlements with a coalition of states and a Hollywood writers union. To satisfy state attorneys general, Paramount pledged to spend an extra $1.5 billion on domestic production over five years and release 30 high-quality theatrical films each year.

Ellison will remain chairman and CEO, working alongside newly named co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, the former Mattel chief, who will run day-to-day operations and lead the integration. Paramount and Warner Bros. will keep their names as studio brands under the Skydance parent.

The combined company faces a heavy to-do list. Paramount says it will deliver $6 billion in cost savings, much of it from merging streaming technology and cloud providers. It also carries about $80 billion in debt, putting pressure on Ellison to grow streaming, protect cash flow from cable networks and lift theatrical performance.

The road to the close ran through a heated bidding war. After merging with Paramount last year, Skydance outbid Netflix for Warner Bros. Discovery in a contest that also drew interest from Comcast. Skydance was founded in 2010 by Larry Ellison’s son and built its name backing Paramount blockbusters including “Top Gun: Maverick.”

CNN chief Mark Thompson and CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss will continue in their respective leadership roles, the companies said.