Paramount completes its takeover of Warner Bros
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CHICAGO -- It's official: Skydance-owned Paramount closed its $81 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, ushering in a new Hollywood giant.
The merger brings two of America's oldest moviemaking studios together under a new name: Skydance. The deal, which followed a tumultuous, roughly yearlong fight, further concentrates power in an industry already run by just a handful of major players.
HBO Max, titles ranging from "Harry Potter" to "Sinners" and networks such as CNN now find themselves under the same roof as Paramount+, CBS and the likes of "Top Gun" and "The Godfather." All are under the helm of billionaire David Ellison and his new co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.
"Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry," Ellison said in a statement. "We couldn't be more excited to get to work."
Including billions of dollars in debt, the Warner acquisition amounts to nearly $111 billion.
Ellison's Skydance bought Paramount for $8 billion last year before setting its sights on Warner. What followed was one of the biggest tie-ups ever in the media and entertainment industry.
Politics loomed over much of the process. The Ellison family has held a long relationship with President Donald Trump, who said Tuesday that Skydance is "going to be a great company."
The early days of Paramount's quest for Warner turned into a messy bidding war.
Months after disclosing it was open to selling all or part of its business, Warner initially struck a studio and streaming deal with Netflix in December.
But Paramount said it also had made offers that Warner management "never engaged meaningfully" with. It soon launched a hostile counterbid.