Paramount completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6, 2026, and the combined company is named Skydance. The transaction brings major film and television studios, streaming services, broadcast and cable networks, news, sports, and entertainment libraries under one corporate roof. The headline value of nearly $111 billion includes debt; it is not the amount paid in cash to WBD shareholders.
What closed, and what the deal figures mean
Skydance and Paramount announced that the acquisition closed on October 6, 2026, after required regulatory approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Warner Bros. Discovery shares ceased trading that day. The company said WBD shareholders received $31.01666668 per share in cash.
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| Figure | What it describes | Source and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Nearly $111 billion | Headline transaction value, including debt | The Associated Press reported this as the deal’s value, including billions in debt. |
| $81 billion | The takeover value, a distinct measure from the headline value | The Associated Press described the takeover as an $81 billion acquisition. |
| $31.01666668 per share | Cash consideration paid to WBD shareholders | Skydance/Paramount’s October 6, 2026 completion announcement. |
These figures measure different things: the headline value includes debt, the AP’s takeover figure is its separate description of the acquisition, and the per-share amount is the shareholder cash consideration. The nearly $111 billion figure should not be described as cash paid to shareholders.
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What Skydance brings together
The combined portfolio spans content production, distribution, news, sports, and television networks. The companies’ completion announcement identifies assets and brands including:
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- Film and television studios: Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros.
- Streaming: Paramount+ and HBO Max.
- Broadcast and news: CBS and CNN.
- Cable networks and sports: Paramount and WBD cable networks, CBS Sports, and TNT Sports.
- Libraries and franchises: properties ranging from Top Gun and Harry Potter to SpongeBob SquarePants and The White Lotus.
The practical significance is the concentration of studios, streaming services, news operations, sports rights, and libraries within one company. The completion announcement establishes the combined portfolio, but it does not by itself determine how individual brands, programming decisions, or distribution arrangements will change.
Will Paramount+ and HBO Max become one service?
Skydance says it intends to unify its direct-to-consumer streaming products over time. Its October 6 announcement does not give a launch date, a final service name, or details about future pricing, content access, or whether Paramount+ and HBO Max will remain as separate brands during a transition. Subscribers should not treat the announced plan as a currently available combined service.
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What the company says about films and theatrical releases
In its completion announcement, the company committed to releasing at least 30 theatrical films per year, each with a minimum 45-day theatrical window. That is the company’s stated public commitment.
Separately, the Associated Press reported that the court-approved settlement with states sets staged theatrical-distribution requirements: 30 films in each of the first two years and 32 films in each of the following three years. AP also reported that missing those output requirements could trigger Miramax divestiture and payments of $30 million per missed film toward union health and retirement funds. The settlement’s staged requirements and enforcement terms should not be conflated with the company’s broader public commitment.
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Settlement commitments and oversight
The Associated Press’s account of the state settlement reports additional obligations and commitments tied to the combination:
- U.S. production spending: an additional $1.5 billion in film-production spending over five years.
- Worker training: $47.5 million for training and career development for displaced workers over five years.
- Cable-channel negotiations: separate negotiations for the parties’ basic cable channels for five years.
- News oversight: a News Editorial Independence Board to monitor CBS and CNN operations within 180 days of closing.
AP reported that Colorado and Washington did not sign off on the editorial-board terms. These details are AP’s account of the settlement provisions; they are distinct from the company’s own public statements about its plans.
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How the deal reached closing
The transaction followed a bidding contest involving Netflix. The Associated Press reported that WBD initially favored a Netflix studio-and-streaming transaction announced in December; Paramount made competing bids and launched a hostile counterbid, eventually offering $31 per share for all of WBD. Netflix later exited, and Paramount and WBD signed their merger agreement in late February. The company’s completion announcement confirms the final close on October 6, 2026.
Regulatory and legal steps preceded closing. The UK Competition and Markets Authority launched its merger inquiry on June 9, 2026, and announced clearance of the anticipated acquisition on August 6, 2026. AP reported that settlements of litigation brought by 12 states and the Writers Guild of America emerged in September and were approved by a judge, clearing a key hurdle. The company said it completed the acquisition after receiving required regulatory approvals.
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What Skydance projects—and what is not yet established
The completion announcement says the combined company has more than 200 million streaming subscribers across platforms and nearly $70 billion in revenue. It also sets management targets of at least $6 billion in run-rate synergies within three years, more than $10 billion in free cash flow by 2030, and a 3.0x net-leverage target by the end of 2029. These are company-reported figures and forward-looking targets, not independently established results. The release cautions that integration, synergy, leverage, and cash-flow goals may not be achieved on the stated timetable or at all.
What consumers will see next remains unsettled: the company has not specified when streaming products will unify or what that service will look like. The immediate confirmed change is corporate ownership and the combined company’s Skydance name; subsequent integration, programming, and financial outcomes will depend on decisions and results after closing.
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