Paramount completes Warner Bros takeover to form Skydance media giant

Paramount has completed its takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, creating a new media company called Skydance. The deal brings together two of Hollywood's best-known studios and a wide portfolio of television, news and cinema assets under the control of David Ellison. The transaction was completed on Tuesday local time in New York, where Skydance shares began trading under the ticker SKYD.

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Ellison described the completion of the deal as a historic day for the media industry. The combined company includes Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros Pictures, as well as the CBS News and CNN networks and the HBO and CBS television brands. Ellison said he plans to eventually merge the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services over time.

Warner Bros Discovery shareholders are to receive about US$31 per share in cash. The new company said it is targeting more than US$6 billion in cost savings within three years, and it expects annual revenue of nearly US$70 billion. Ellison will serve as chairman and chief executive, while former Mattel chief Ynon Kreiz will be co-chief executive in charge of day-to-day operations and integration.

The takeover is one of the largest media mergers ever completed and comes after months of scrutiny over its impact on jobs, film production and editorial independence. Critics have argued that combining the businesses could reduce the number of films made in Hollywood and raise questions about the future of CNN's independence. Supporters say the deal creates a stronger company able to compete across streaming, television and cinema.

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The transaction follows a bidding war earlier this year in which Paramount beat Netflix for Warner Bros Discovery. It also came less than a week after a federal judge in California approved a settlement between Paramount and 12 US states that had sued to block the deal on antitrust grounds. The Trump administration approved the merger in June without requiring changes to the business structure.

What happens next will depend on how quickly the two companies can integrate their operations and whether the promised savings are achieved. It remains unclear how the planned streaming merger will be managed and what effect the deal will have on staffing, production and editorial decisions. Investors, regulators and media workers will be watching for further details as the new Skydance group begins trading and takes shape.

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