Paramount completes $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, forming Skydance

CNBC reported that after repeated rejections, a bidding war, a series of regulatory approvals, an antitrust challenge by state attorneys general and a timely settlement, Paramount's hard‑fought takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery closed on Tuesday, October 6 2026. The combined company amounts to one of the largest media conglomerates in history, is newly named Skydance and trades under the ticker symbol 'SKYD,' according to CNBC.

It brings together two of the most storied film studios and nearly one‑third of basic cable programming, according to CNBC. Die Welt noted that the transaction is valued at approximately $110 billion and that the new company will face a debt load of dozens of billions of dollars.

Paramount said it will release at least 30 films per year from the combined studios in the first two years after the merger, increasing to 32 films per year thereafter, according to Die Welt. Die Welt also reported that critics warned CNN could lose editorial independence under Ellison’s leadership, prompting Paramount to promise an independent editorial oversight board for the network.

The leading figure at the new company is David Ellison, son of Oracle co‑founder Larry Ellison, who will oversee strategy, while former Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz will handle operations, according to Die Welt. Die Welt added that the former Paramount studio chiefs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein will take charge of the film business, while HBO Max chief Casey Bloys will lead the combined streaming unit with Paramount+.