Paramount Skydance has closed its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, putting two of Hollywood’s major studios under one roof. The combined company is now called Skydance, trades on the New York Stock Exchange as SKYD and has promised at least 30 theatrical films a year.

Hollywood has a new giant. Paramount Skydance on Tuesday, October 6, completed its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal Reuters valued at $110 billion, and renamed the combined company Skydance.

The company announced the closing in a statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Its shares moved from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange the same day and now trade under the ticker SKYD.

“Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry,” chairman and chief executive David Ellison said in the announcement.

What the New Company Owns

According to the company, the merger brings together two major film studios, two global streaming services, CBS, HBO, the cable networks of both companies, and two news networks, CBS News and CNN. It also holds live sports rights through CBS Sports and TNT Sports.

Skydance described itself as one of the largest media and entertainment companies in the world, with nearly $70 billion in revenue and more than 200 million streaming subscribers across its platforms.

The Promise to Cinemas

For the film business, the most closely watched line in the announcement was a commitment on output. The company said Paramount and Warner Bros. will together deliver a minimum of 30 theatrical films per year and more than 180 television shows and series.

It also said its content spending, counted across the two companies for the last twelve months, was more than $30 billion.

Debt, Savings and Jobs

The financial weight of the deal is considerable. Reuters reported that the combined company is expected to carry about $80 billion in debt. Skydance said the transaction included $47 billion of new equity investment.

The company is targeting more than $6 billion in savings over the next three years, and says it expects to generate more than $10 billion in free cash flow by 2030. Reuters noted that the scale of the planned cuts is expected to affect jobs across Hollywood.

Who Is in Charge

Ellison has named former Mattel chief executive Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO to run day-to-day operations, Reuters reported. CNN chief Mark Thompson and CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss are to continue in their roles.

Paramount secured Warner Bros. Discovery after what Reuters described as a heated bidding contest with Netflix. The deal comes a year after Skydance completed its own merger with Paramount.

Image: The Warner Bros. Studios water tower in Burbank, 2020. Photo by Chris Yarzab via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.