by Joseph Weber
Skydance-owned Paramount on Tuesday officially closed its $81 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The merger brings together two of the United States’ oldest movie-making studios and brings HBO Max and even networks such as CNN under the same roof as Paramount+, CBS and the likes of “Top Gun” and “The Godfather,” according to the Associated Press.
The new entity will be led by billionaire David Ellison, and his new co-CEO, Ynon Kreiz. Ellison’s Skydance last year bought out Paramount for $8 billion, then set its sights on Warner soon after, which resulted in a tumultuous, roughly year-long fight over Warner’s future, the wire service also reports.
According to Ellison, Tuesday 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. 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,” Ellison said.
“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,” he added.
Gerry Cardinale, a Skydance board director, called the deal a “defining moment for the industry.”
“By applying our owner-operator model to Paramount and WBD’s unmatched portfolio of iconic franchises, premium original programming, and live sports rights, we can protect that legacy while building for a media landscape that’s undergoing transformational change. David, our Co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, and the rest of our world-class Skydance team have the vision and track record to lead through this change. We’re proud to back them as we build a stronger Hollywood, expand opportunities for talent, and create long-term value for our shareholders,” Cardinale explained.
– – –
Joseph Weber is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
