Paramount and Warner Bros merge into one Hollywood giant

Paramount on Tuesday finalized its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, completing a hostile acquisition that was months in the making and almost faltered at several hurdles.

The takeover cost a total of around $81 billion (roughly €72 billion), or almost $111 billion including the Warner Bros. debts passed on as part of the deal.

The merger brings together two of the oldest US filmmaking studios and will form a new giant called Skydance Corporation.

Why Skydance Corp.? Who's behind the new behemoth?

The new name Skydance hails from billionaire investor David Ellison, who first bought out Paramount and its subsidiaries and then moved on to target the much larger fish that is Warner Bros.

The bid faced stiff competition in a bidding war with Netflix, and later scrutiny from US regulators and politicians, but ultimately went through.

"Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry," said Ellison, whose family has ties to US President Donald Trump.

Skydance shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday under the ticker SKYD, while Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders will receive about $31 per share.

The deal closed less than a week after a federal judge in California approved a settlement between Paramount and 12 US states that had sued to block the transaction on antitrust grounds.

As well as the two giant film studios, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, the deal also brings together the CBS News and CNN news networks, and the HBO and CBS television brands. Ellison says he plans to merge the subscription streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max.

Ellison will serve as chairman and CEO of the new company. Former Mattel boss Ynon Kreiz is operating as co-CEO in charge of day-to-day operations.

Skydance Corp. looks set to have a total revenue in the region of $70 billion, based on the performance to date of its component parts. It says it's targeting cost savings of around $6 billion within three years as it takes advantage of overlaps created by the merger.