Overview
- A federal judge approved the settlement with 12 state attorneys general on September 30, clearing the main legal barrier to Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
- David Ellison announced on October 2 that the merged company will be named Skydance and the parties have set a provisional closing date of Tuesday, October 6, 2026.
- The consent decree requires the new company to release at least 30 theatrical films a year for five years and to raise U.S. production spending by roughly $300 million annually, and it includes measures to protect newsroom independence.
- Paramount Skydance has disclosed large debt financings (including roughly $41.4 billion of bond and loan issuance and Term Loan B facilities) that create heavy leverage and will drive near‑term restructuring and cost‑integration work.
- Leadership plans keep David Ellison as CEO with Ynon Kreiz joining as co‑CEO to run day‑to‑day integration, and the company will relist shares under a new ticker when the deal closes.