Paramount closes Warner Bros. Discovery takeover, creating Skydance

Paramount Skydance closed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, creating a company named Skydance, according to multiple outlets. AP-written stories carried by The Seattle Times and The Boston Globe described an $81 billion takeover that, including debt, amounts to nearly $111 billion, while The Verge, Engadget, NBC News and CBS News put the deal at $110 billion. Newsweek called it a $111 billion deal. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]

The new company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday morning, CNN reported. Engadget said it trades under the symbol SKYD while Warner Bros. Discovery shares cease trading on Nasdaq. Engadget, citing Variety, said the combined company will have annual revenue of nearly $70 billion and carry $80 billion in debt. [ 7 , 8 ]

The merger places CNN, CBS News, HBO and CBS under one roof along with cable networks including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, TBS, TNT, Adult Swim and Cartoon Network, and franchises including DC, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mission: Impossible, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek and SpongeBob SquarePants, the outlets reported. Skydance said its direct-to-consumer streaming products will unify into a single service over time, CNN reported, and Polygon reported HBO Max and Paramount Plus are becoming one streaming service. [ 2 , 4 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 12 ]

David Ellison, who orchestrated the deal as Paramount Skydance CEO, leads the new company with co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, the former Mattel chief executive. “Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry,” Ellison said in a statement. In an email to employees, Ellison and Kreiz said the merger would let the company create a “stronger competitor, one with the scale to take on the biggest players in our industry.” [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 10 ]

The close followed a roughly yearlong fight. Warner initially struck a studio and streaming deal with Netflix in December, while Paramount said Warner management “never engaged meaningfully” with its proposals and launched a hostile counterbid, the AP-written stories said. CNBC’s timeline said Warner’s board rejected Paramount’s offer again on Jan. 7, Paramount sued Warner and its CEO on Jan. 12, Netflix amended its bid to an all-cash $27.75 per share on Jan. 20, Paramount added a ticking fee and an agreement to pay a $2.8 billion Netflix breakup fee on Feb. 10, and Netflix granted a seven-day waiver on Feb. 17. Paramount later raised its offer to $31 per share, Netflix bowed out and the companies signed a merger agreement in late February, the AP stories said. CBS News said Warner Bros. shareholders will receive the cash equivalent of roughly $31 per share, the company said. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 10 ]

Paramount settled antitrust suits from 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America, CBS News and The Verge reported. The settlement requires 30 films in each of the first two years and bars the company from selling or closing the Paramount or Warner Bros. Los Angeles studio lots for at least five years, CBS News said; The Verge said Skydance must spend at least $300 million more on US production than the two companies spent last year combined. California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said Paramount agreed to establish an editorial board to help CNN and CBS maintain editorial independence, CBS News reported. [ 5 , 10 ]

The Hill said the deal creates the largest provider in news, sports and entertainment and that questions remain about its long-term impact at CNN and CBS. CBS News said Ellison is targeting $6 billion in cost savings, which some in the media industry fear could lead to job losses; Ellison and Kreiz told employees integration will bring “difficult decisions that affect our workforce.” The Verge said the deal drew criticism from lawmakers and Hollywood talent over media consolidation. [ 5 , 6 , 10 ]