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Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery Expect to Become Skydance on October 6

By Freedom251 Team · · 3 min read

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Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery expected their merger to close on October 6, 2026, after which the combined company is planned to be named Skydance. As of October 2, the deal had not closed and remained subject to customary closing conditions. The court had cleared a specific no-close restriction, but that was not the same as completing the merger.

When is the merger expected to close?

The companies announced October 6, 2026 as the expected closing date. Under the announced structure, Prince Sub Inc., a wholly owned Paramount Skydance subsidiary, will merge into WBD, with WBD surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of Paramount Skydance. The transaction remained conditional as of October 2; the expected date was not confirmation that closing had occurred.

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How much will WBD shareholders receive?

WBD’s merger agreement provides for $31.00 in cash per common share, without interest, plus a daily increase for each calendar day elapsed after September 30, 2026 through and including closing. The contractual increase is $0.00277778 per share per day, subject to the agreement’s terms.

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For a closing on October 6, Paramount Skydance and WBD calculated the payment at $31.01666668 per share. That is a conditional calculation based on the anticipated closing date, not a confirmed final payment.

Figure What it describes
$31.00 plus $0.00277778 per day Contractual cash consideration per WBD common share, as stated in WBD’s 2026 SEC filing.
$31.01666668 per share The companies’ calculation if closing occurs October 6, 2026.
$81 billion The Associated Press’s description of the merger’s size; it is not the per-share consideration and should not be treated as interchangeable with a valuation using a different basis.

What approvals and court actions remain relevant?

The DOJ investigation

On June 12, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division said it had completed its investigation and determined, based on the evidence it received, that the proposed merger was not likely to harm competition or American consumers in streaming video on demand, linear television, or film development, production, or theatrical distribution. That was the DOJ’s assessment from its investigation, not a finding that every competition concern had been resolved.

The states’ lawsuit and consent decree

A separate lawsuit by 12 states alleged that the merger would harm competition. On September 30, the federal court entered the consent decree agreed by the companies and the states, and modified the no-close order to permit closing. This resolved the states’ case and removed that identified restriction; customary closing conditions still applied.

The decree imposes film-release commitments for five years. According to the companies’ SEC filing, the combined entity must release at least 30 films in each of the first two commitment years and 32 in each of the next three. The decree also specifies minimums for wide releases and independent films, and at least half of the films counted toward each annual commitment must be produced or jointly produced by the combined entity.

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The Associated Press reported additional settlement provisions: $47.5 million for worker training and career development over five years; separate negotiations over current Paramount and WBD basic cable channels during that period; and an editorial-independence board for CBS and CNN. These are reported settlement obligations, not predictions about the companies’ future programming or market performance.

What will the combined company be called?

On October 2, David Ellison announced that the combined company would be named Skydance. Axios reported that its ticker is expected to be SKYD. Both refer to the planned identity after the merger, which was still pending at the time of the announcement.

Who is expected to lead the company?

The Associated Press reported that Paramount announced Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz would join David Ellison as co-CEO after closing. Kreiz is expected to oversee day-to-day operations, while Ellison is expected to focus on strategy. These are announced post-closing plans, not current roles at the combined company.

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How did the deal replace WBD’s prior merger agreement?

WBD and Paramount Skydance’s boards unanimously approved their February 2026 merger agreement, according to WBD’s SEC filing. The agreement followed termination of WBD’s merger agreement with Netflix; Paramount Skydance paid Netflix a $2.8 billion termination fee on WBD’s behalf in connection with that termination.

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What to watch after October 6

The key distinction is whether the announced closing actually takes place. Until official company or SEC filings confirm it, the merger, Skydance identity, expected SKYD ticker, and leadership arrangements should be described as planned or conditional. If closing is confirmed, the final per-share payment will depend on the agreement’s daily increase through the closing date.

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Media industryMergers and acquisitionsParamount+SkydanceWarner Bros. Discovery

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