Hollywood mega-powerhouse created as Paramount completes Warner Bros Discovery takeover

New entertainment giant Skydance brings together Warner Bros, Paramount, HBO, CNN and CBS, more than 200 million streaming subscribers and franchises including Harry Potter, Top Gun and SpongeBob SquarePants

A new Hollywood mega-powerhouse has been created after Paramount completed its takeover of Warner Bros Discovery.

The combined company, renamed Skydance, brings two major film studios under one roof alongside HBO, CBS, CNN, Paramount’s television networks and Warner Bros Discovery’s channels.

Its brands include Warner Bros, Paramount, HBO, HBO Max, Paramount+, CBS, CNN, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, MTV, Comedy Central, Food Network, BET and HGTV.

The group also controls CBS Sports and TNT Sports and a huge catalogue of films and television stretching from Harry Potter and Top Gun to The White Lotus and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Together, its streaming platforms have more than 200 million subscribers. Skydance also says the enlarged business has the largest theatrical output in the industry and the most diverse film and television library of any studio.

It plans to release at least 30 films in cinemas every year, each with a minimum 45-day theatrical window, alongside more than 180 television shows and series.

The new group has nearly US$70 billion in annual revenue and spent more than $30 billion on content over the past 12 months.

Its reach extends across more than 200 countries and territories, Skydance said in a statement.

Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery’s streaming operations are also expected to be combined into a single service over time.

David Ellison will become chairman and chief executive of the enlarged group, which Skydance says is now one of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies.

He said: “Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry.

“From the start, our ambition was to bring these two storied studios together and create a stronger competitor, with the talent, resources, and reach to tell great stories in every genre, on every platform, for audiences everywhere. Now that ambition is a reality.”

The deal was cleared by competition authorities covering nearly 70 jurisdictions before completing on October 6. Warner Bros Discovery shares have now stopped trading on Nasdaq, while the new Skydance trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD.

Warner Bros Discovery shareholders received just over US$31 in cash for each share they held.

The company now expects to generate more than US$10 billion in free cash flow by 2030 and is aiming to reduce its net leverage to three times earnings by the end of 2029.

The acquisition was backed by US$47 billion of new equity investment led by the Ellison family, RedBird Capital, the Public Investment Fund, L’IMAD, the Qatar Investment Authority and LionTree.

Ellison added: “We’re grateful to everyone who made this possible – the employees, creative talent, and production teams of both companies, who worked tirelessly to get us here and inspire audiences around the world every day, as well as the advisors and partners who guided this transaction to completion.

“Our focus now turns to the future: building a company that empowers creatives, entertains audiences and rewards shareholders. We couldn’t be more excited to get to work.”

READ MORE: Abu Dhabi to build first Harry Potter land featuring both Hogwarts Castle and Diagon Alley. Construction permits show Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi will become the only theme park globally to host full-scale replicas of both Hogwarts Castle and Diagon Alley — and the first not operated by Universal Studios.

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_{Main image: Skydance is the new name of the entertainment giant formed following Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, bringing together some of Hollywood’s biggest film studios, television networks and streaming services. Credit: Skydance / Paramount Skydance.}