Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Paramount on Tuesday completed its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, uniting two of Hollywood’s most storied studios in a media empire spanning television, news, and cinema under the control of David Ellison. The combined company, renamed Skydance, brings together Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, the CBS News and CNN networks, and the HBO and CBS television brands. Ellison plans to eventually merge the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services.
“Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry,” said Ellison. His ultra-wealthy family’s ties to US President Donald Trump have raised concerns among critics that the new Hollywood giant will toe the White House line in its news coverage. “It’s going to be a great company,” Trump told reporters Tuesday as he left the White House.
The sprawling new corporation faces considerable challenges, with the entertainment industry in flux as streaming services and YouTube draw viewers away from traditional TV and movie theater audiences dwindle. Skydance shares sank more than 4.5 percent on the company’s first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “SKYD.” The deal closed less than a week after a federal judge in California approved a settlement between Paramount and 12 US states that had sued to block the transaction on antitrust grounds.
Paramount won a bidding war against Netflix in February for Warner Bros. Discovery, and the Trump administration approved the deal, one of the largest-ever media mergers, in June without demanding a change to its business. Skydance, which will have nearly $70 billion in annual revenue, said it is targeting more than $6 billion in cost savings within three years. Ellison will serve as chairman and chief executive officer, with former Mattel chief Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO in charge of day-to-day operations and integrating the two businesses.
The deal was backed by $47 billion in new equity led by the Ellison family, private equity firm RedBird Capital, and the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. Ellison’s father, billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison, provided major funding and a guarantee to lenders backing the deal. The Ellison family holds the largest equity stake in Skydance.
Opponents in the movie industry said the combined company would slash jobs in a Hollywood already under pressure and reduce the number of films produced every year, while news media groups feared CNN’s independence could be compromised. The settlement with the states includes several safeguards on these issues, including a board meant to protect CNN’s editorial independence.
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