Paramount closes $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery deal to form Skydance

Deal closes after a rocky road

Paramount has completed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, forming a combined company that will operate under the name Skydance. According to The Verge, the merger places the film studios of Paramount and WBD, along with brands such as HBO, CBS News and CNN, under a single corporate roof.

TechCrunch reports that the transaction ranks among the biggest mergers on record and brings together two major streaming platforms, Paramount+ and HBO Max, alongside networks including CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS, Comedy Central and Food Network. The combined catalogue spans franchises such as The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, the DC Universe and Yellowstone.

The settlements that cleared the legal path

The deal's last major obstacle was removed last month, when Paramount settled with 12 US states that had sued to block the transaction over antitrust concerns. Under the settlement, as reported by The Verge, Skydance must release a minimum number of theatrical films over the next five years, starting with 30 in each of the first two years, and must spend at least $300 million more on US production than the two companies spent combined in the previous year.

TechCrunch adds that a settlement with a Hollywood writers' union also helped clear the remaining legal hurdles. The Verge notes that the merger had drawn criticism from both lawmakers and Hollywood talent over the impact of media consolidation.

A bidding war won against Netflix

Paramount secured its agreement in February after a months-long battle with Netflix for Warner Bros. Discovery. According to TechCrunch, Netflix had previously reached a deal to buy Warner Bros.' film and television studios and its streaming business, excluding the cable networks. Paramount ultimately prevailed by promising shareholders additional cash if the transaction failed to close by a specified deadline, and by agreeing to cover the breakup fee WBD would have owed Netflix for walking away from its existing agreement.

Who runs the new company

David Ellison leads Skydance, with Ynon Kreiz, the former chairman and CEO of Mattel, joining him at the top, according to The Verge. Ellison had already merged Skydance Media with Paramount the previous year, and TechCrunch describes the new deal as rapidly increasing his influence in Hollywood. The Ellison family is the company's largest shareholder, backed by the fortune of Larry Ellison, David Ellison's father and Oracle co-founder.

In the announcement, Ellison called it "a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry," saying the goal from the start was to build "a stronger competitor, with the talent, resources, and reach to tell great stories in every genre, on every platform, for audiences everywhere."

The company says the combined corporation will generate annual revenue of nearly $70 billion. Skydance Class B shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on the day of the announcement under the ticker symbol SKYD.

Why it matters

The merger removes one of the few remaining independent major studios and puts two of the largest general-entertainment streaming services, Paramount+ and HBO Max, under the same owner. That leaves the streaming market even more concentrated among a handful of large operators, at a time when audiences already face a patchwork of subscriptions.

The antitrust settlement also sets a template for how US regulators handle media consolidation: rather than blocking the deal outright, the states extracted concrete commitments on theatrical output and domestic production spending, conditions that will shape what Skydance releases and where it spends money for at least the next five years.

Finally, the deal cements David Ellison's position as one of the most powerful figures in entertainment, achieved in barely two years and underwritten by his family's wealth. How he chooses to integrate two sprawling studios and two streaming platforms will be watched closely across the industry.