Paramount and Warner Bros Complete 110 Billion Dollar Merger to Form Skydance

Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have finalized a 110 billion dollar merger, establishing a consolidated entertainment group that will operate under the name Skydance.

The transaction reshuffles market listings immediately. The newly formed business began trading its Class B shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD, while Warner Bros. Discovery ceased trading on the NASDAQ.

The unification brings two prominent digital subscription platforms, HBO Max and Paramount+, under common ownership as media companies continue to rethink their online distribution strategies.

A vast portfolio of traditional television channels is also merging. Skydance now oversees broadcast and cable brands that include CBS, CNN, MTV, Comedy Central, Food Network, TBS, TNT, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon.

Along with network infrastructure, the transaction concentrates major entertainment properties within one archive. The combined catalog holds the DC Universe, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, Yellowstone, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Looney Tunes, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Skydance has announced specific output goals for the combined enterprise. The company stated it intends to deliver 30 theatrical motion pictures annually, along with more than 180 television programs and series.

The balance sheet presents significant financial pressures alongside this operational scale. While Skydance anticipates yearly revenue approaching 70 billion dollars, the newly combined operation carries roughly 80 billion dollars in existing debt.

Chief executive David Ellison leads the expanded organization, applying the brand of the production firm he established in 2006. The Ellison family serves as the majority shareholder, supported by financing from his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.

The purchase caps a rapid sequence of studio acquisitions by Ellison, who secured control of Paramount during the prior year through an 8 billion dollar takeover.

Securing Warner Bros. required overcoming competing interest from Netflix, which had earlier negotiated an arrangement to acquire the studio and streaming operations while omitting cable channels. Paramount countered that plan by agreeing to fund the termination fee owed to Netflix and pledging cash incentives to shareholders if deadlines slipped.

The closing follows months of regulatory reviews and labor challenges. Final clearance arrived after the companies negotiated formal settlements with an alliance of American state officials and a Hollywood writers guild.