Paramount Skydance officially completed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, closing one of the largest media mergers in entertainment history and creating a new Hollywood giant operating under the Skydance name .
The deal, valued at approximately $81 billion in equity with an additional $30 billion in debt, was finalized after all regulatory approvals were secured and the final legal barriers were removed . Skydance’s Class B shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “SKYD,” while Warner Bros. Discovery shares ceased trading on Nasdaq, with shareholders receiving approximately $31.02 per share in cash.
The Year-Long Battle for Warner Bros Discovery
The road to completion was anything but smooth. Warner Bros. Discovery initially struck a studio and streaming deal with Netflix in December 2025, but Paramount—which had acquired its parent company Skydance just a year earlier—launched a hostile counterbid aimed at taking over the entire company, including networks CNN and Discovery . Warner’s leadership repeatedly backed Netflix as its preferred suitor, but Paramount eventually raised its offer to $31 per share, prompting Netflix to withdraw from the race . Warner and Paramount signed a mutual merger agreement by late February 2026 . The transaction then faced an eight-month regulatory review spanning 68 jurisdictions worldwide, including the US, EU, China, and the UK, all of which ultimately cleared the deal . The final obstacle was an antitrust lawsuit filed by 12 US state attorneys general led by California, which was resolved through a settlement days before closing.
What the New Skydance Controls
The combined company brings together two of America’s oldest film studios under one roof, along with a sprawling portfolio of television networks and streaming platforms . Skydance now controls Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, streaming services Paramount+ and HBO Max, television networks including CBS and CNN, and iconic franchises ranging from **Harry Potter and DC to Top Gun and The Godfather . The company has more than 200 million streaming subscriptions across its platforms and generates nearly $70 billion in annual revenue. Led by CEO David Ellison and Co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, Skydance has committed to releasing at least 30 theatrical films annually with a minimum 45-day cinema window, and plans to combine its streaming products into a single service over time.
Reaction and What Comes Next
David Ellison called the completion “a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry” . “From the start, our ambition was to bring these two storied studios together and create a stronger competitor, with the talent, resources, and reach to tell great stories in every genre, on every platform, for audiences everywhere,” he said . The deal has sparked significant concerns in Hollywood, with thousands of actors, writers, and directors signing an open letter in April 2026 warning of fewer jobs and “less choice for audiences” . There are also fears about potential job losses at CNN and CBS News, and concerns about editorial independence at CNN given the Ellison family’s ties to President Donald Trump . Analysts have warned that streaming price increases are likely as Skydance seeks to service the debt taken on for the acquisition and achieve at least $6 billion in annual savings within three years.