Paramount wraps up mega Warner Bros merger to create Hollywood powerhouse Skydance
PSKY•Paramount Skydance completed its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, creating a company called Skydance. The combined company is expected to carry about $80 billion in debt and faces a $6 billion cost-savings target.
1. Merger completed
Paramount Skydance completed its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery on Tuesday, creating an entertainment company called Skydance. Its studios include those behind “Mission: Impossible,” “Harry Potter” and DC Studios, alongside networks and services including CBS, CNN, Paramount+ and HBO Max.
2. Integration and debt
Co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz face a planned $6 billion in cost savings, much of which Paramount said would come from combining streaming technologies and cloud providers. The combined company is expected to carry about $80 billion in debt.
3. Leadership and listing
CNN chief Mark Thompson and CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss will remain in their leadership roles. Shares of the combined company moved from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange, where they are to trade under the ticker SKYD.
