Key Takeaways
- Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery plan to operate as Skydance Corporation after completing their expected $110 billion merger on October 6, while retaining the Paramount and Warner Bros. studio brands.
- Led by David Ellison and incoming co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, the combined company will control Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Paramount+, HBO Max, CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS, and Food Network.
- An antitrust settlement requires Skydance to release at least 30 movies annually in U.S. theaters for two years, then 32 annually for three years, while spending $1.5 billion on U.S. productions over five years.
Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery are expected to complete its $110 billion merger next week — and a new name comes with it.
From Tuesday (October 6), two of Hollywood's most recognizable studio names are expected to share the same corporate home, creating a massive entertainment company that will operate under a new name: Skydance Corporation.
According to Forbes, David Ellison, who will lead the combined business, revealed the name ahead of the deal's expected closing. Rather than choosing Paramount or Warner Bros. as the parent company's identity, Ellison said executives wanted the larger organization to have "an identity of its own."
That doesn't mean movie-goers will suddenly stop seeing the Paramount mountain or Warner Bros. shield. Both studio names are expected to remain intact as brands within the larger company.
Once the deal is finalized, Skydance will control a sprawling collection of entertainment businesses. Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. will sit alongside streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max, while the company's television portfolio will include CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS and Food Network.
Investors will also see another change following the merger. Skydance's Class B shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under SKYD instead of Nasdaq.
The merger is approaching the finish line after U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin approved a settlement connected to antitrust concerns about the deal. That agreement places several requirements on the new entertainment giant.
For its first two years, the company must put at least 30 movies into U.S. theaters annually. The minimum then jumps to 32 releases per year for the following three years. Skydance is also committed to spending $1.5 billion on U.S. film and television production over five years.
Ellison will also have company at the top. Former Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz is set to become co-CEO on Monday (October 5), right before the merger is scheduled to become official.
