Paramount announced Tuesday that it has completed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, one of the biggest media mergers of all time. The combined company will be called Skydance, putting two of Hollywood's most storied studios under one roof and under the control of David Ellison.
The deal unites streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max with networks including CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS, Comedy Central and Food Network. On the content side, Skydance now controls franchises including the DC Universe, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and Yellowstone, with the company projecting nearly $70 billion in annual revenue.
Completion came after settlements with a coalition of US states and a Hollywood writers' union cleared the main legal hurdles. Paramount had announced the acquisition in February following a bidding battle with Netflix, which had previously reached its own agreement for Warner Bros.' studio and streaming assets.
Ellison, who only last year completed his merger of Skydance Media with Paramount, called it a historic day for the industry, saying the focus now turns to building a stronger competitor. Skydance Class B shares begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD - and Hollywood is bracing for what consolidation on this scale means for jobs, creativity and competition.
