Paramount closes $110bn deal with Warner Bros Discovery: The new firm is Skydance
Paramount has completed a $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery to form a new entity named Skydance, led by David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz. The deal includes strict regulatory conditions regarding theatrical releases and editorial independence for news divisions.
Why it matters
This massive consolidation reshapes the Hollywood landscape and sets new regulatory precedents for media mergers and editorial oversight.
The entity Skydance will be led by tech scion David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, formerly the top executive at Mattel.Paramount's purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, which Hollywood spent most of 2026 treating as either inevitable or illegal, depending on who was paying for the lunch, is done. The parent company will be called Skydance, and David Ellison will run it alongside his incoming co-CEO Ynon Kreiz. Ellison simply reused the name of Skydance Media, his original film production company, as the umbrella for everything being folded into the new conglomerate. Paramount and Warner Bros. themselves survive as brands under that umbrella, keeping their logos on their films, much as Universal sits under Comcast.The road here was not short. Paramount offered $31 a share in cash, valuing Warner's equity at $81 billion and the whole transaction at $110 billion once debt is counted.
Also covering this story
11 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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David Ellison Unveils Skydance Team Who Will Run Paramount-Warner Bros. Empire - The Hollywood Reporter
David Ellison Names Skydance Corp.’s New Leadership Team for Movies, TV, Streaming and More - Variety
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