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Paramount has finalized its $81 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, the companies announced on Tuesday, forming a unified Hollywood giant that will now be known as Skydance.
The consolidation brings together two of America’s oldest moviemaking studios.
Under the new arrangement, assets including HBO Max, titles ranging from “Harry Potter” to “Sinners,” and television networks like CNN will soon find themselves housed under the same roof as Paramount+, CBS, and iconic films such as “Top Gun” and “The Godfather.”
“Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry,” CEO David Ellison, who will guide the company alongside his new co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, said in an official statement.
The newly created Hollywood giant will carry a shorter corporate name, “Skydance.” Nevertheless, the deal stands as one of the largest tie-ups ever recorded in the media and entertainment industry. Bringing two of America’s oldest film studios together, the merger places properties like HBO Max, “Harry Potter,” “Sinners,” and CNN alongside Paramount+, CBS, “Top Gun,” and “The Godfather.”
All of these properties will now come under the direct leadership of billionaire Ellison and his co-CEO Kreiz.
The arrangement further concentrates corporate power in a business sector that is already managed by a small handful of dominant players.
Ellison’s Skydance bought Paramount for $8 billion last year, and very soon after turned its attention to Warner, an even larger target.
What followed transformed into a tumultuous, yearlong struggle over the ultimate fate of Warner.
When including billions of dollars in existing debt, Paramount’s purchase of Warner reaches a total value of nearly $111 billion today.
The opening phase of Paramount’s effort to acquire Warner quickly turned into a messy bidding contest.
Months after publicly stating it was open to selling parts or all of its business, Warner initially reached a studio and streaming agreement with Netflix in December.
However, Skydance-owned Paramount, arguing that Warner management “never engaged meaningfully” with its prior offers, soon launched a hostile counterbid designed to acquire the entire enterprise—including major networks like CNN and Discovery.
The media giants spent a significant portion of early 2026 in a heated back-and-forth debate over who presented the stronger offer, with Warner leadership repeatedly championing Netflix as its preferred suitor.
Paramount eventually raised its bid to purchase all of Warner for $31 per share, prompting Netflix to bow out of the competition. Warner and Paramount formally signed a mutual merger agreement in late February.
