Paramount Completes $110 Billion Warner Bros. Discovery Takeover, Forming Skydance; Shares Begin Trading as 'SKYD'

Paramount Skydance Corporation, now renamed Skydance Corporation, closed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Oct. 6, 2026, creating a combined media company called Skydance in a transaction Reuters valued at $110 billion. Shares of the combined company moved from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the ticker "SKYD," while Warner Bros. Discovery's Nasdaq-listed stock ceased trading the same day, according to Reuters and a company announcement.

How the deal was structured

Under the merger agreement, Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders received cash of $31.01666668 per share, Skydance said. Reuters, citing a regulatory filing, reported that WBD shareholders also received an additional $41.9 million in a "ticking fee" tied to the number of days between the end of September and the closing date. The transaction included $47 billion of new equity investment in Class B common stock priced at $12.00 per share, led by the Ellison Family, RedBird, the Public Investment Fund, L'IMAD, the Qatar Investment Authority and LionTree. Debt financing was led by Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo, according to the company. The Ellison Family holds the largest equity stake in Skydance, and the Ellison Family together with RedBird Capital Partners are the sole holders of Class A common stock, representing all of the combined company's voting shares.

Debt load and financial targets

Reuters reported the combined company is expected to carry about $80 billion in debt, which it said puts pressure on CEO David Ellison to grow streaming, preserve cash flow from cable networks and improve theatrical film performance. Skydance says it is targeting at least $6 billion in run-rate synergies within three years, with savings coming primarily from technology, integration and procurement, marketing and real estate rationalization. Reuters reported that a large share of those savings is attributed to non-labor sources, such as consolidating technology and cloud providers, but noted the scale of the cuts is expected to affect jobs across Hollywood.

Skydance says it has nearly $70 billion in revenue and more than $30 billion in pro forma content spend for the last twelve-month period, and it expects to generate more than $10 billion in free cash flow by 2030 while reducing net leverage to a 3.0x target by the end of 2029. Separately, Reuters reported that analysts at MoffettNathanson forecast Skydance revenue of about $67 billion in 2028, rising to roughly $70 billion in 2030, and core operating profit (EBITDA) of $16 billion in 2028, rising to $19 billion in 2030. By our calculation, the two revenue estimates differ by $3 billion, equal to about 4.3% of the 2030 figure (67 minus 70, divided by 70), while the EBITDA estimates differ by $3 billion, or about 15.8% of the 2030 figure (16 minus 19, divided by 19). One reading of those third-party forecasts — an interpretation, not a source conclusion — is that the firm expects margin expansion, with profit rising faster in percentage terms than revenue over the same two-year span. Skydance itself cautioned that its synergy, leverage and free cash flow targets are forward-looking and that the company "may not achieve the expected run-rate synergies, net leverage, free cash flow or other financial goals" within the stated timeframes, citing risks tied to its ability to manage substantial indebtedness.

Streaming consolidation plans

Skydance says it starts with more than 200 million streaming subscribers across its platforms and plans to unify HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single service over time; the company did not specify a date or pricing for that transition. Reuters confirmed the plan to combine the two streaming services but likewise did not report a timeline.

Content commitments

Skydance has committed to at least 30 theatrical films annually, each with a minimum 45-day theatrical window, and says it already has more than 180 television shows and series in its portfolio. Reuters reported the pledge more specifically as at least 30 films in each of the first two years after closing, rising to 32 films a year for the following three years — a step-up of two films, equal to about 6.25% of the later 32-film annual pace, by our calculation (30 minus 32, divided by 32).

Regulatory approvals and settlement conditions

Skydance said the transaction closed after receiving all required regulatory approvals and unanimous approval from competition authorities covering nearly 70 jurisdictions worldwide. Reuters reported that settlements with a coalition of U.S. states and a Hollywood writers union removed the main legal barriers to the merger, one of the largest in media history. As part of that settlement, Ellison agreed to create an editorial independence board to oversee CNN and CBS; Reuters reported that experts have warned the board will be "toothless." CNN chief Mark Thompson and CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss will each continue in their roles, reporting separately to Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, according to Reuters.

Leadership and structure

Skydance is organized into three segments, Studios, Direct-to-Consumer and TV Media, with brands including Paramount, Warner Bros., HBO and HBO Max, Paramount+, Pluto TV, CBS, CNN, CBS Sports, TNT Sports, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, MTV, Food Network, BET, HGTV and Comedy Central. Ellison named Kreiz, the former Mattel CEO, as co-CEO to run day-to-day operations and lead integration, while Ellison oversees creative direction and strategy, Reuters reported. Kreiz joined the board alongside former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick and Emerson Collective founder Laurene Powell Jobs, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair will join the company as an adviser. Ellison's annual base salary will be $5 million with a target annual bonus of $5 million, according to a regulatory filing cited by Reuters.

Reaction

Ellison told reporters legacy media companies "allowed Netflix to disrupt their business" and "held on to the past for too long," framing the merger as necessary to compete with Netflix, Disney, Apple, Meta and Amazon, per Reuters. In a statement, Ellison called the closing "a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry," saying the goal was to "create a stronger competitor, with the talent, resources, and reach to tell great stories in every genre, on every platform." President Donald Trump voiced approval of the completed deal, telling reporters, "It's going to be a great company... That's a great merger. I'm glad they let it go." Reuters noted that Trump recently banned several news outlets, including CNN, from the White House, weeks ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Bottom Line

Skydance's formation combines the Paramount and Warner Bros. studio brands and the CBS and CNN news operations under roughly $80 billion in debt, by Reuters' reporting, with management setting multiyear targets for synergies, subscriber growth and streaming consolidation that the company itself has flagged as forward-looking and subject to execution risk. Investors will be watching whether the editorial independence commitments and theatrical release pledges hold up alongside the stated deleveraging timeline through 2029.