Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery Complete $111 Billion Merger

Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have officially become a single company. The $111 billion merger closed on Tuesday, October 6, creating Skydance Corp., led by chairman and CEO David Ellison, according to Variety. The value includes the assumption of Warner Bros. Discovery's debt.

The new company brings together two major film studios, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., along with networks including CBS, CNN, Comedy Central, MTV and TBS and the streaming services Paramount+ and HBO Max. Newsweek notes that CBS Sports and TNT Sports now sit under one roof. Warner Bros. Discovery's games studios, including Rocksteady and NetherRealm, are part of the deal.

Skydance has annual revenue of nearly $70 billion but also about $80 billion in net debt, the company said. Its Class B shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD. Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders received about $31 per share in cash. The deal was funded by $47 billion in new equity led by Larry Ellison, RedBird Capital Partners, LionTree and the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

The path to closing was long. Netflix first announced a deal for Warner Bros. Discovery, then walked away as Paramount's bids grew more lucrative, Empire reports. A coalition of 12 state attorneys general later challenged the deal, temporarily halting it this summer, and the Writers Guild of America also raised objections, Empire reports.

A federal judge approved Paramount's settlement with the states on September 30, which Variety describes as the final barrier. The company argued the settlement addressed the states' main concern, a reduction in theatrical releases. The deal had been cleared by regulators in 68 jurisdictions.

Ellison called it a historic day for the entire industry. Paramount also announced a new project this week, a live-action Cyberpunk 2077 movie.