Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal Closes, Forming Skydance

Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed on October 6, creating a combined media company operating as Skydance and bringing CNN and CBS News under the same corporate parent. The transaction joins major film studios, television networks and streaming services, placing a broad portfolio of entertainment and news properties within one company led by chairman and chief executive David Ellison and co-chief executive Ynon Kreiz. The merger brings together Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery assets including Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., HBO, HBO Max, Paramount Plus, CBS and CNN. Skydance began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD on the closing day, according to reports. The companies’ former Nasdaq listings were discontinued, according to closing-day accounts. The transaction’s reported value varies: accounts cited figures of $81 billion and about $110 billion or $111 billion including debt, without establishing a common basis for comparison. Skydance is reported to carry about $80 billion in debt following the acquisition. That figure has not been reconciled across the available accounts, which use differing measures and descriptions.