Paramount completes $110B Warner Bros. merger to form Skydance
The combined company plans $6 billion in cost savings and says the merger will expand streaming scale and content output.
- On Tuesday, Paramount Skydance officially closed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, with the combined company beginning trading on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker SKYD, led by Chairman and CEO David Ellison and Co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.
- Democratic attorneys general from 12 states sued in July to block the merger, alleging it would extinguish competition; the Writers Guild of America followed suit, forcing a September settlement requiring increased U.S. film production and editorial independence boards.
- Skydance carries approximately $87.5 billion in debt according to Fitch Ratings while planning to slash $6 billion in costs over three years, with leadership stating most savings will come from technology integration and real estate consolidation rather than staffing.
- Ellison pledged CNN would maintain "complete editorial independence" and he would shield the network from Trump interference; the settlement established a News Editorial Independence Board for CNN and CBS, with CNN CEO Mark Thompson confirming his continued role as editor-in-chief.
- The merger reduces Hollywood's major studios to four companies—Skydance, Disney, Universal and Sony—further concentrating power in an industry already dominated by few players, with regulatory filings indicating the new ownership will pursue cost cuts including potential layoffs.
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Remembering the Zaz Age
Yesterday, at long last, the Ellisons succeeded in capturing their elusive prey. For the tidy sum of $111 billion—plus another $3 billion or so in legal costs, M&A commissions, and that Netflix breakup fee—Paramount Skydance’s tumultuous acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery has finally closed. The new entity has been christened Skydance, tout court. It’s hard […] The post Remembering the Zaz Age appeared first on Puck.
Skydance Just Became a Media Giant—With an $80 Billion Debt Load
The $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery-Paramount merger has closed as Skydance Corp. (NYSE: SKYD), leaving the new company with roughly $80 billion in debt and a push for cost-saving synergies.
The acquisition of WBD by Paramount for $110 billion has been finalized on Tuesday. The 13-month end of an arm of arms with the unions and several American statesThe American film and television group Paramount Skydance has completed on Tuesday the acquisition of its competitor Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), to form a new entity renamed Skydance that aims to compete with the streaming giants.The absorption of WBD by Paramount Skydance for $110 bil…
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