Paramount and Warner Bros wrap up mega Skydance deal

Paramount has completed its mammoth £83 billion 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 and 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 after triumphing over Netflix in a lengthy bidding battle.

David Ellison, Skydance chair and chief executive, said: “This is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry.”

David, 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.”

Netflix had originally agreed to buy Warner Bros’ studio and streaming business last December in a deal worth £61.8 billion including debt.

Paramount, which was bought by Skydance last year, initially launched a hostile approach, before gaining the approval of the Warner Bros board.

Britain’s regulators gave the deal the green light in August, while the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said it also would not intervene, given several “legally-binding commitments” from Paramount over its footprint in the UK broadcasting and on-demand entertainment market.

It was seen as an important hurdle for the firms to clear ahead of completion, but the deal had to gain approval from regulators across the world, while also settling a lawsuit lodged by Democratic attorney generals in 12 states seeking to block the merger.

To help fund its Warner buyout, Paramount has gained billions of dollars in financial backing from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

US private equity firm Redbird Capital also provided new equity financing to Paramount for the deal.

Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of RedBird Capital and a Skydance director, added: “This is a defining moment for the industry.

“By applying our owner-operator model to Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery’s unmatched portfolio of iconic franchises, premium original programming, and live sports rights, we can protect that legacy while building for a media landscape that’s undergoing transformational change.”

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