Paramount completes Warner Bros. Discovery merger to create Skydance

Paramount said on Tuesday it completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery to create a combined company called Skydance. TechCrunch put the deal at $110 billion, while UPI and Ars Technica said it was valued at $111 billion. Axios described the closing as the end of a dramatic, yearlong process that rattled Hollywood, Wall Street and Washington, and NPR reported the merger had survived court challenges, public protests and regulatory scrutiny before the combined company began operating. [ 1 , 4 , 8 , 10 , 11 ]

Axios reported the combined entity, rebranded Skydance, houses three major movie studios — Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures and Skydance — two global streamers, Paramount+ and HBO Max, and two major news networks, CNN and CBS. TechCrunch reported the combined company also includes networks such as MTV, TBS, Comedy Central and Food Network, and franchises including “The Lord of the Rings,” “Game of Thrones,” the DC Universe and “Yellowstone.” UPI reported Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders received $31.02 per share in cash. [ 4 , 8 , 10 ]

TechCrunch reported the merger places one of the world’s largest entertainment studios under the control of David Ellison, who completed his merger of Skydance Media with Paramount last year. The Ellison family is Skydance’s largest shareholder, backed by Larry Ellison, David Ellison’s father and an Oracle co-founder, TechCrunch reported. UPI reported Ellison, 43, is chair and CEO, and that the new company begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday as SKYD while Warner Bros. Discovery shares have been discontinued on Nasdaq. “Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry,” Ellison said in a statement cited by TechCrunch and UPI. [ 4 , 8 , 10 ]

TechCrunch reported Paramount announced in February it would acquire Warner Bros. after a bidding battle with Netflix, which had previously agreed to buy Warner Bros.’ film and television studios and streaming business excluding its cable networks. UPI reported Warner Bros. Discovery accepted Netflix’s offer on Dec. 5, Paramount then launched a hostile bid, and Larry Ellison later agreed to back the deal with $40 billion in equity. UPI said Netflix switched to an all-cash offer on Jan. 20, Paramount did the same on Feb. 10, Netflix granted a seven-day pause, Paramount raised its bid to $31 per share, and Netflix ceded defeat in late February. [ 4 , 10 ]

TechCrunch reported the completion followed settlements with a coalition of U.S. states and a Hollywood writers’ union that cleared the main legal hurdles. Axios reported that a dozen Democratic state attorneys general sued to block the transaction as it approached the finish line this summer, and that Skydance made commitments in its settlement, including theatrical film release minimums and investments in domestic production jobs, to address regulatory concerns about the concentration of assets. [ 4 , 8 ]

UPI reported the new company starts with $80 billion in debt. Axios described the deal as one of the most highly levered transactions in American history and said it will test the market’s appetite for megamergers financed by large amounts of debt amid rising interest rates. [ 8 , 10 ]