Paramount Skydance completed its purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday. The combined company, named Skydance, began trading on the NYSE under SKYD.
Paramount Skydance closed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, ending a months-long contest that included a bidding fight with Netflix and litigation with state attorneys general. The combined company will be called Skydance.
The Washington Post reported that the new group holds the Paramount and Warner Bros. film and television studios, Paramount+ and HBO Max, and CNN and CBS News. David Ellison is chairman and chief executive. Ynon Kreiz, previously the top executive at Mattel, is co-chief executive. TechCrunch said the company put annual revenue near $70 billion. Class B shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD.
A memo obtained by the Post said the corporate parent would use the Skydance name while keeping the Paramount mountain and Warner Bros. shield. Bari Weiss remains editor in chief of CBS News, the Post reported.
TheWrap said clearances covered 68 jurisdictions, including the US Justice Department, the Federal Communications Commission, the European Commission and Britain's Competition and Markets Authority. Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin approved a settlement with a dozen state attorneys general that includes $1.5 billion for domestic film and television production over five years and a commitment to release at least 30 films a year in theatres.
The studios and network brands remain in place. No further integration timetable was published in the accounts reviewed.
People Sentiments Mixed
- David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz told staff the parent company would be named Skydance while the Paramount and Warner Bros. studio names would stay.