Paramount completes Warner merger and renames combined company Skydance
Paramount closed its Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition on Oct. 6, creating Skydance with roughly $80 billion in reported debt.
By Renata Fuchs · Policy Reporter
· 3 min read
Paramount Warner merger completion arrived Oct. 6, when Paramount Skydance closed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and renamed the combined public company Skydance. The deal is described as a $110 billion takeover by Reuters and rounded to $111 billion elsewhere, a difference in rounding rather than separate transactions. The closing puts two major film studios, Paramount+ and HBO Max, CBS and HBO, CBS News and CNN, and CBS Sports and TNT Sports under one company.
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders received $31.01666668 in cash for each share, according to Skydance’s closing announcement. WBD shares stopped trading on Nasdaq, while Skydance Class B shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD.
David Ellison is Skydance’s CEO, and Reuters reported that Ynon Kreiz is co-CEO. The deal gives the pair responsibility for integrating film, television, streaming, news, cable and sports businesses at a time when cable subscriptions are declining and established media groups face costly competition for streaming audiences.
What does the Paramount Warner merger completion create?
Skydance now combines the Paramount and Warner Bros. studios, the companies’ streaming services and a large programming library and franchise portfolio. The company said it plans to consolidate its direct-to-consumer streaming products into one service over time, though it did not provide a completion date in its announcement.
The company has committed to release at least 30 theatrical films each year with a minimum 45-day theatrical window. It also said it has more than 180 television shows and series. Those are company commitments and descriptions of the combined business, not results yet achieved.
Skydance is targeting at least $6 billion in annual run-rate synergies within three years. Reuters reported the combined company carries about $80 billion in debt, placing pressure on management to grow streaming, preserve cash flow from cable networks and improve theatrical film performance. Whether the savings target is met, and how the streaming consolidation changes the products, are now the central execution tests.
Legal settlement adds news governance condition
The transaction closed after a California-led antitrust challenge was settled. Ars Technica reported that the other states involved went along with the compromise, which a federal judge approved on Sept. 30. The settlement requires minimum thresholds for investment and domestic film releases, as well as separate negotiations for distributing the companies’ basic-cable holdings.
The settlement also requires an editorial-independence board for CBS News and CNN. Ars Technica reported that Skydance will choose the board’s members and that they will report to Skydance’s board of directors. Reuters reported that CNN chief Mark Thompson and CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss will remain in their roles and report separately to Ellison and Kreiz.
A separate consumer challenge did not halt the closing. According to Ars Technica, the Ninth Circuit rejected the plaintiffs’ request for relief, and Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan denied their emergency application without comment.
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.
