Paramount closes $110 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, creating Skydance
Paramount Skydance on Tuesday completed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, uniting the movie studios behind "The Godfather" and the "Harry Potter" films into a media colossus rebranded as Skydance.
David Ellison, who orchestrated the merger as CEO of Paramount Skydance, will lead the new company along with co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, who was previously CEO of toy company Mattel.
"Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry," Ellison said in a separate statement from Skydance.
The deal came together after Paramount settled a July lawsuit from a coalition of 12 state attorneys general and a separate lawsuit from the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Both had sued to block it on antitrust grounds.
Under the settlement agreement, Paramount pledged to produce 30 films in each of the first two years after the merger and is barred from selling or closing the Paramount or Warner Bros. studio lots in Los Angeles for at least five years.
Ellison said the company is targeting $6 billion in cost savings, a move that some in the media industry are concerned could lead to job losses.
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- Paramount Skydance on Tuesday completed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, uniting the movie studios behind "The Godfather" and the "Harry Potter" films into a media colossus rebranded as Skydance.
- David Ellison, who orchestrated the merger as CEO of Paramount Skydance, will lead the new company along with co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, who was previously CEO of toy company Mattel.
- "Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry," Ellison said in a separate statement from Skydance.
- The deal came together after Paramount settled a July lawsuit from a coalition of 12 state attorneys general and a separate lawsuit from the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Both had sued to block it on antitrust grounds.
- Under the settlement agreement, Paramount pledged to produce 30 films in each of the first two years after the merger and is barred from selling or closing the Paramount or Warner Bros. studio lots in Los Angeles for at least five years.