The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger Discovery closes after nearly a year of battle, paving the way for Skydance
The $110 billion merger of Paramount Skydance (PSKY) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) closed Tuesday after Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan denied a last-minute attempt to terminate the deal.
The new company – known as Skydance (SKYD) – brings streaming services HBO Max and Paramount+ under one roof, about seven months after Paramount won a lengthy bidding war for Warner Bros. on Netflix (NFLX).
The merger faced many backlashes and a long road to completion.
“The completed transaction unites two of the media and entertainment industry’s most storied companies, each with a history spanning more than a century, giving the combined company a rare legacy to build upon,” Skydance said in a press release. “The goal of the combined company is to build a next-generation global media and entertainment company, powered by creativity and technology.”
The company’s entertainment franchises range from “Sopranos” to “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Euphoria” to “Harry Potter.” The portfolio also includes television networks CBS, CBS News, CBS Sports, CNN, TNT, TBS, Nickelodeon and MTV, among others.
Last February, Warner Bros. The board deemed Paramount’s Skydance’s company-wide $31 per share proposal “superior” to Netflix’s offer.
The new name is an ode to the production company that David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, founded in 2006 and merged with Paramount in 2025.
David Ellison will be co-CEO of Skydance, alongside former Ynon Kreiz, CEO of Mattel, who abruptly resigned from the toymaker last week.
On Monday, the company said Ellison would focus on long-term strategy, creative vision and direction, “including its talent relationships, strategic partnerships, technology and capital allocation.” Kreiz will focus on the day-to-day management and integration of the two companies.
Bari Weiss, executive editor of CBS News, and Mark Thompson, president and editor-in-chief of CNN, remain in their positions. Both were named to the CEO’s news leadership team.
Paramount CFO Dennis Cinelli will serve in the same role at Skydance, while other executives will take on new roles with higher ranks. CBS Sports chief David Berson will take charge of combined sports operations following the departure of Warner Bros.’ top sports executive. Discovery, Luis Silberwasser. HBO executive Casey Bloys will become Skydance’s chief content officer.
Warner Bros. CEO Discovery’s David Zaslav will enjoy a nice salary of around $886.8 million.
A few weeks ago, Paramount reached an agreement with a dozen states, including California, that sought to block the Warner Bros. acquisition. by the company for $111 billion, for antitrust reasons.
Gn entert
