Paramount and Warner Bros wrap up mega deal to create Skydance
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Paramount has completed its 110 billion US dollar (£83 billion) mammoth takeover of Warner Bros Discovery to create a new Hollywood giant called Skydance.
The deal brings together two of the world’s biggest film studios, as well as streaming services and television networks including CBS, HBO Max, and sees popular titles such as Harry Potter, Top Gun and The Godfather brought under the same group.
The mega merger will significantly reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape, while in the UK, Skydance will control assets including Channel 5 and TNT Sports.
The deal’s completion comes eight months after Paramount agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery in February after triumphing over Netflix in a lengthy bidding battle.
David Ellison, chairman and chief executive of Skydance, said: “Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry.”
Mr Ellison, who will lead the company alongside his new co-chief executive Ynon Kreiz, said: “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.”
