Paramount Skydance completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, with a transaction value of $110 billion. The merged company will be renamed Skydance, and its stock will move from NASDAQ to the NYSE under the ticker SKYD. According to Reuters, this is one of the largest mergers in media history. Variety reported the deal at $111 billion when including debt.

The company will group Paramount, Warner Bros. Studios, CBS, CNN, HBO, Paramount+, and HBO Max together. The film library includes titles like "Mission: Impossible," "Harry Potter," DC, "Game of Thrones," and "SpongeBob SquarePants." The company claims an annual revenue of nearly $70 billion, with a net debt of about $80 billion post-merger. David Ellison and former Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz will serve as co-CEOs, with Ellison overseeing creative and strategic aspects, while Kreiz will manage daily integration. The two face a savings target of $6 billion.

Warner shareholders will receive cash of about $31 per share. Regulatory filings indicate an additional $41.9 million in timing fees due to the gap between the end of September and the closing date. Ellison stated in an employee letter that the merger aims to achieve the scale necessary to compete against the industry's largest players. HBO head Casey Bloys will take on the role of Chief Content Officer. Leadership at CBS and CNN will remain unchanged according to Reuters.

The deal was finalized after competing bids from Netflix. The board had determined in February that Paramount's offer of $31 per share for the entire company was superior to Netflix's. The closing was subject to approval from 68 jurisdictions, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Communications Commission, the European Commission, and the UK's Competition and Markets Authority. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan denied a request for a temporary halt before closing.

Antitrust lawsuits from 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America were resolved through a settlement. The settlement requires the company to release at least 30 theatrical films annually for the first two years post-closing, invest $1.5 billion in domestic film production over five years, and not sell or close the Paramount or Warner studios in Los Angeles for five years. Distribution agreements for cable will be negotiated separately.

The buyer is Paramount Skydance, controlled by Ellison, and the seller is Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders. This is a closing, not a new offer. Cash and debt flow to the studios, news, and streaming. Skydance acquires the film library and two streaming services, while Netflix loses the entire company as a target. The debt is approximately $80 billion, with integration and the $6 billion savings target resting on Kreiz's side.

Source: Public Information