Paramount Skydance has completed its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, creating one of Hollywood’s biggest entertainment and media companies under chief executive David Ellison.
The deal brings together studios behind major franchises including Mission: Impossible, Harry Potter and DC Studios with television, streaming and news networks such as CBS, CNN, Paramount+ and HBO Max.
The new company will operate under the Skydance name, giving Ellison control of a vast entertainment and news business at a time when traditional media companies face growing competition from streaming platforms, technology firms and artificial intelligence.
In a memo to employees on Tuesday, Ellison
In a memo to employees on Tuesday, Ellison described the merger as an opportunity “to build the next-generation media and entertainment company, powered by creativity and technology”.
He said the objective was not simply to become bigger but “to take on the biggest players in our industry.”
Speaking at a press conference, Ellison blamed established media companies for failing to respond quickly enough to the rise of streaming.
They allowed Netflix to disrupt their business, he
“They allowed Netflix to disrupt their business,” he said. “They allowed Amazon Prime Video to come and disrupt their business. They didn’t transform, and they held on to the past for too long.”
The combined company’s shares moved from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, where they will trade under the ticker “SKYD”.
The merger overcame its main legal hurdles following settlements with a coalition of US states and a Hollywood writers union.
The deal comes as the entertainment industry faces
The deal comes as the entertainment industry faces declining cable-TV subscriptions, rising costs of competing for streaming audiences and continuing pressure from unions over jobs and creative workers’ rights.
US President Donald Trump welcomed the merger when asked about it on Tuesday.
“It’s going to be a great company,” he told reporters. “That’s a great merger. I’m glad they let it go.”
CNN chief Mark Thompson and CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss will retain their respective positions under the new company.
Both executives will separately report to Ellison
Both executives will separately report to Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, addressing concerns that Weiss could gain control over all of Skydance’s news operations.
Those concerns followed criticism from lawmakers over Ellison’s handling of news coverage at Paramount-owned CBS News, including allegations that coverage had been tailored to favour Trump.
As part of the settlement, Ellison agreed to establish an editorial independence board to oversee CNN and CBS News.
Experts have questioned how effective the board will
However, experts have questioned how effective the board will be, with some warning that it could be “toothless”.
Ellison said the Skydance name was chosen to preserve the separate identities of Paramount and Warner Bros studios rather than combine them under a new brand.
The merger marks a dramatic rise for Skydance, which was founded in 2010 by David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
The company initially built its reputation
The company initially built its reputation as a financial backer and producer of Paramount blockbusters, including Top Gun: Maverick.
After merging with Paramount last year, Skydance turned its attention to Warner Bros, eventually winning a heated bidding contest that also involved Netflix and attracted interest from companies including Comcast.
Warner Bros shareholders received an additional $41.9 million “ticking fee” based on the number of days between the end of September and the closing of the deal, according to a regulatory filing.
