Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Join Forces Under Skydance

Paramount has completed the Warner Bros. Discovery, joining two of Hollywood’s biggest entertainment names.

The packed has shaped a new company called Skydance, the new company will bring Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. under the same corporate parasol. Along with Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the company will contain CBS News, CNN, HBO and CBS, below the leadership of chairman and CEO David Ellison.

Ellison designated the merger as a historic moment for Skydance and the wider entertainment industry. The company also tactics to ultimately combine its Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming platforms.

However, the massive merger could also bring major changes for employees. In a memo to staff, Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz warned that the deal would involve difficult decisions that could affect the workforce. Skydance is aiming to save more than $6 billion in costs over the next three years.

The joint company could carry in close to $70 billion in annual revenue, However, its shares dropped 2.7% during their first trading session on the New York Stock Exchange under “SKYD.”

The takeover comes as Hollywood faces growing pressure from streaming platforms and YouTube, while traditional television and cinema audiences continue to change.

The packed was funded by $47 billion in renewed equity from the Ellison family, RedBird Capital, and sovereign affluence funds in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Larry Ellison, the originator of Oracle and David Ellison’s father, also played a major role in funding the deal.

The merger has raised concerns about job cuts, film production and CNN’s editorial independence. A settlement approved by a US judge includes safeguards, including a board designed to protect CNN’s editorial independence.