Discovery are now a single company — joined together as Skydance Corp., led by chairman and CEO David Ellison. The deal, valued at $111 billion, brings together two major studios, TV networks including CBS, CNN, Comedy Central, MTV and TBS, and streaming services Paramount+ and HBO Max. The new Skydance will have annual revenue of $70 billion, the company says — but it also will have to wrestle with $80 billion in net debt.
The closing of the deal comes a little more than a year after Ellison’s Paramount Skydance (created in 2025 after his Skydance Media bought Paramount Global) first launched his bid for Warner Bros. He encountered numerous obstacles on the way there — including a rival Netflix deal for WB assets and an antitrust lawsuit filed by 12 Democratic attorneys general — but has now prevailed in sealing the deal. Skydance Class B shares will begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol “SKYD.” Under the terms of the merger, Warner Bros.
Discovery shareholders received an amount in cash equal to $31.01666668 per share. WBD shares have ceased trading on Nasdaq effective Tuesday. The CEO continued: “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.
Now that ambition is a reality…. Our focus now turns to the future: building a company that empowers creatives, entertains audiences and rewards shareholders.” Ellison has hired Ynon Kreiz, former CEO of Mattel, to run the company as co-CEO. On Monday, Ellison announced the senior leadership team for the new Skydance.
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