David Ellison’s $81 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery officially closed Tuesday more than seven months after his winning bid, creating a new media behemoth known as Skydance.
The combined company will include two historic film studios and their Hollywood lots; major streaming services HBO Max and Paramount+; CNN and CBS News; live sports channels including CBS Sports and TNT Sports; and thousands of iconic movie titles.
“Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry,” Ellison, chairman and chief executive of Skydance, said in a statement.
“From the start, our ambition was to bring these two storied studios together and create a stronger competitor, with the talent, resources, and reach to tell great stories in every genre, on every platform, for audiences everywhere. Now that ambition is a reality.”
Skydance’s Class B shares will start trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “SKYD,” the company said in a press release.
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders have received an amount in cash equal to roughly $31.02 a share, as per the merger agreement. WBD shares have ceased trading on the Nasdaq, effective Tuesday.
The deal crossed the finish line after settling an antitrust lawsuit brought by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 other lefty AGs, who warned the deal could crush competition, raise consumer prices and limit choices.
Paramount assuaged Bonta with pledges to spend an additional $1.5 billion on domestic production over the next five years and release 30 high-quality theatrical films each year.
Skydance noted that it now has the most diverse film and television library of any studio, the largest theatrical output in the industry, more than 200 million streaming subscribers and franchises from “Top Gun” and “Harry Potter” to “White Lotus” and “Spongebob Squarepants.”
The newly-combined company boasts nearly $70 billion in revenue and expects to generate more than $10 billion in free cash flow by 2030, according to the press release.
Paramount staffers have been panicking over potential “bloodbath” layoffs incoming, including at CNN, as the media giant seeks to cut costs, The Post previously reported.
CNN journos have also been sounding the alarms over the threat to their editorial independence, after Bari Weiss – who was hand-picked by Ellison to lead CBS News – fired “60 Minutes” legends and hired controversial producers and anchors to lead the show.
Ellison’s settlement with Bonta included a promise to install external editorial independence boards at both CBS News and CNN, though details on these boards’ powers have not yet been made public.
Paramount secured regulatory approvals from President Trump’s Department of Justice, as well as global authorities in the EU, UK, Australia and China.
The Ellison family – including David Ellison and his billionaire father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, a close Trump ally – holds the largest equity stake in Skydance, and along with RedBird Capital Partners are the sole holders of Paramount Class A stock.
The deal was backed by $47 billion of equity investment led by the Ellisons; RedBird; Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund; Qatar Investment Authority; and LionTree, an investment bank. Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo led the transaction’s debt financing.
Before facing California’s antitrust challenge, Paramount was locked in a monthslong bidding war with streaming giant Netflix last year.
Warner Bros. had initially accepted an offer from Netflix, calling the streamer its preferred partner.
But in February, Paramount emerged victorious, offering a higher-value deal that included a costly “ticking fee” forcing Ellison to pay $7 million for each day the deal was not completed after Oct. 1.
It’s unclear if Ellison is planning to pay roughly $28 million since the deal was delayed by roughly four days.
Critics have blasted Ellison for renaming the new company Skydance, getting rid of both the iconic Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery names.
Ellison founded Skydance, a smaller film and TV production company, in 2006. After merging it with Paramount in 2025, he dubbed the new company Paramount Skydance.
Paramount Pictures was founded in 1912. Warner Bros. was launched in 1923, and was renamed after merging with Discovery in 2022.
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