Skydance has completed its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, creating one of the world’s largest entertainment groups and placing a sprawling collection of film studios, television networks and streaming businesses under the control of David Ellison.
The transaction closed Tuesday, according to Reuters, bringing together Paramount and Warner Bros. operations that include CBS, CNN, HBO Max and Paramount+, as well as major movie franchises and studios associated with “Mission: Impossible,” “Harry Potter” and DC characters.
The combined business, called Skydance, also shifted its shares from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange, where they began trading under the symbol SKYD, Reuters reported. The transaction ranks among the biggest consolidations in the history of the media industry.
For Ellison, the deal represents a dramatic expansion of an entertainment company founded only 16 years ago. Skydance began as an independent studio in 2010 and later became closely associated with Paramount through financing and production arrangements, including work on “Top Gun: Maverick,” according to Reuters. After combining with Paramount in 2025, the company pursued Warner Bros. Discovery in a competitive sale process that also involved Netflix and attracted interest from Comcast.
The acquisition cleared its remaining major legal obstacles after settlements involving a group of U.S. states and a Hollywood writers union, Reuters reported. Its completion comes as traditional media companies contend with shrinking cable audiences, expensive competition for streaming subscribers and continuing concerns among Hollywood workers about employment and creative rights.
The harder part now begins: integrating two enormous media operations while managing a sizable debt load.
Skydance is expected to carry about $80 billion of debt following the transaction, according to Reuters. That will increase pressure on management to improve the economics of streaming, sustain cash generated by traditional television networks and produce stronger returns from theatrical releases.
Ellison will oversee the company’s broader strategy and creative direction. Ynon Kreiz, the former chief executive officer of Mattel, has been named co-CEO and will handle day-to-day operations as well as the integration of the businesses, Reuters reported.
Among management’s biggest commitments is a target for $6 billion in cost reductions. Paramount has said a substantial portion of those savings can come from areas not directly tied to labor, including consolidating cloud infrastructure and streaming technology, according to Reuters. Even so, the magnitude of the planned savings has raised expectations of employment consequences across the entertainment industry.
We’d love to be your preferred source for news.
Please add us to your preferred sources list so our news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks!
Related: Paramount Reaches Deal With States, Clearing Major Hurdle to Warner Bros. Takeover
Streaming will be another major focus. Skydance intends to eventually bring services including HBO Max and Paramount+ together into one platform, Reuters reported. The company has also committed to releasing at least 30 movies annually during each of the first two years following the transaction and 32 films a year during the subsequent three-year period.
The combined portfolio gives management considerably more content with which to compete for viewers, but also leaves it responsible for businesses exposed to the continuing erosion of conventional television.
MoffettNathanson analysts project the company could generate about $67 billion of revenue and $16 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2028, according to Reuters. By 2030, the brokerage expects revenue to reach roughly $70 billion and EBITDA to climb to about $19 billion.
The transaction also puts two influential U.S. news organizations under the same corporate umbrella. CNN chief Mark Thompson and CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss are expected to remain in their positions, Reuters reported.
Ellison has said the Skydance corporate name allows Paramount and Warner Bros. to retain their established identities rather than forcing the studios into a newly created consumer brand, according to Reuters. Analysts cited by the news organization said the choice also underscores how much authority Ellison now holds over some of Hollywood’s most prominent entertainment properties.
A regulatory filing cited by Reuters puts Ellison’s annual base salary at $5 million, with another $5 million as his target annual bonus. Warner Bros. shareholders also received an additional $41.9 million tied to the interval between the end of September and completion of the transaction.
The acquisition leaves Skydance with scale few entertainment companies can match. Whether that scale translates into stronger financial performance will depend on Ellison and Kreiz delivering billions of dollars in promised efficiencies while simultaneously navigating the costly transition from traditional television toward streaming.
Source: Reuters
Add as Preferred Source