Key Notes
- Paramount has completed its Warner Bros Discovery acquisition, forming Skydance Corp with Class B shares trading on the NYSE under SKYD.
- WBD shareholders received approximately $31.02 in cash per share, while Warner’s Nasdaq shares have ceased trading following completion.
- Management targets at least $6 billion in annual run-rate savings within three years, putting integration and cash generation in focus.
Paramount Skydance has completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing two major Hollywood studios and their streaming businesses under a combined company named Skydance Corporation, or Skydance Corp. (NYSE: SKYD). Its Class B shares begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on October 6 under the new SKYD ticker, the company announced.
The takeover is worth approximately $81 billion in equity and nearly $111 billion including debt, according to Associated Press. Completion brings the long-running contest for Warner’s assets to an end and shifts the financial focus to integrating the businesses, servicing acquisition debt and delivering promised savings.
SKYD Replaces the Paramount Listing
Warner Bros. Discovery shares have ceased trading on Nasdaq. Its shareholders received $31.01666668 in cash per share, approximately $31.02, including the small additional payment tied to the closing date. The companies had detailed that amount in their September 30 closing notice, when they identified October 6 as the expected completion date.
The exchange change also moves the former Paramount Skydance business from its PSKY identity to SKYD. For former WBD holders, this was a cash acquisition rather than a conversion into shares of the enlarged entertainment group. The new ticker represents ownership of the combined business, with its broader assets and financing obligations.
The Ellison family holds the largest equity stake. The family and RedBird Capital Partners together hold all Class A voting shares, while the publicly traded Class B shares have no voting rights. That structure gives public investors economic exposure while leaving control concentrated with the controlling shareholders.
From the Bidding Contest to Completion
MarketSpeaker followed the bidding contest in February, when Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) declined to raise its competing offer and Paramount emerged as the winning bidder. The companies signed their definitive merger agreement on February 27, moving the transaction from a contested proposal to an agreed acquisition.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s shareholder approval followed in April. MarketSpeaker also covered September’s financing discussions, including exploratory talks about potential additional investors. Those discussions were not commitments; the closing announcement now identifies the investors that supplied the transaction’s new equity.
The Justice Department closed its investigation on June 12 after an eight-month review. It concluded that the proposed combination was unlikely to harm competition in streaming, linear television or studio operations. That regulatory milestone preceded today’s closing, which the company says followed receipt of the required approvals and satisfaction of the remaining conditions.
Debt Financing Makes Execution Central
The transaction included $47 billion of new Class B equity investment priced at $12 per share. Named investors include the Ellison family, RedBird, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, L’IMAD, Qatar Investment Authority and LionTree. That financing price is a transaction term, rather than a quotation for SKYD’s current market price.
The debt package is substantial. In a September 30 financing announcement, Paramount priced $41.4 billion of dollar-denominated secured notes and €885 million of euro notes, alongside $8.5 billion and €850 million of incremental term loans. Proceeds were intended to help fund the purchase and repay certain existing borrowings, so those amounts should not be treated as the combined company’s entire post-merger debt balance.
Dollar note coupons ranged from 6.30% to 9.125%, with maturities stretching from 2028 to 2066. The dollar term loan was priced at the secured overnight financing rate plus 2.75 percentage points. These financing costs make cash generation important: operating improvements must support interest payments as well as spending on programming, technology and integration.
Management is targeting at least $6 billion in annual run-rate synergies within three years. The original merger agreement announcement identified technology integration, procurement and real estate among the savings opportunities. Run-rate savings describe the annualized level management hopes to reach, rather than cash savings already delivered since completion.
A Larger Streaming and Studio Business
The group brings together Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., HBO Max and Paramount+, and television brands including CBS and CNN. Its October 5 leadership announcement assigns David Ellison long-term strategy, creative direction, technology and capital allocation, while co-CEO Ynon Kreiz takes responsibility for day-to-day management and integration.
Casey Bloys oversees original programming across HBO Max and Paramount+, and Dennis Cinelli remains chief financial officer. The division of responsibilities puts the streaming product, creative operations and financial execution under leaders drawn from the businesses being combined. The success of that integration will depend on more than changing the corporate name.
The company has committed to at least 30 theatrical films annually and a minimum 45-day theatrical window, consistent with its earlier investor presentation. It plans to unify its direct-to-consumer streaming products over time. That remains a future integration project, rather than an announcement that HBO Max and Paramount+ have already become one service.
Skydance also targets net leverage of 3.0 times by the end of 2029 and more than $10 billion in free cash flow by 2030. These are management forecasts. The next test for SKYD shareholders is whether the combined group can demonstrate sustainable cash generation and realized savings while maintaining the programming investment needed to retain audiences.
