The combined company created by Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery will be named Skydance, Paramount Chairman and CEO David Ellison has announced, ahead of the transaction’s expected completion on October 6, as reported by Reuters. Ellison said the decision was intended to give the enlarged entertainment company its own corporate identity while preserving the individual identities and legacies of Paramount and Warner Bros. The new legal entity is expected to become Skydance Corporation, with its Class B shares moving from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD.
The $110 billion transaction will bring together some of Hollywood’s most valuable film, television and streaming assets, including Paramount Pictures, CBS, Paramount+, Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO Max and CNN. The combined portfolio will also include major franchises such as Mission: Impossible, Harry Potter and DC Comics. The naming announcement follows a federal judge’s approval of a settlement that cleared the way for the merger after a coalition of 12 US states had challenged the transaction on antitrust grounds. The new company will also operate under a leadership structure that places Ellison in charge of long term strategy, creative direction, technology, talent relationships and capital allocation, while Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz becomes co CEO with responsibility for day to day operations and integration.
The creation of Skydance represents a significant reshaping of the global entertainment industry, combining two major Hollywood studios and their extensive content libraries, television networks and streaming platforms under one corporate structure. Ellison said the decision to retain Paramount and Warner Bros. as distinct brands was designed to ensure their identities remain prominent within the larger company. The leadership team will now face the task of integrating the businesses while targeting approximately $6 billion in cost savings and managing a combined debt burden of around $80 billion. For the global media market, the transaction further accelerates the shift towards scale, intellectual property ownership and integrated streaming and entertainment businesses as traditional studios compete for audiences across increasingly fragmented platforms.
