Paramount Closes Merger With Warner Bros. Discovery to Form Skydance
New York Times · LC · trust 45/100
After a legal battle, the two Hollywood giants have become one. But the new company is saddled with debt, and in a memo to employees, its leaders hinted at cost cuts.
Listen · 5:47 min Share full article 202 The new company, called Skydance, will combine Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures, as well as news networks and streaming services. Credit... Mark Abramson for The New York Times By Benjamin Mullin
The deal immediately catapults the combined company, now called Skydance, to the front rank of competitors alongside streaming titans like Netflix and YouTube, just behind giants like Disney and Amazon.
“Today is a historic day, not just for Skydance but for our entire industry,” Mr. Ellison said in a statement on Tuesday. “We couldn’t be more excited to get to work,” he added.
There were signs that Mr. Ellison was moving at lightning speed to take control of his new empire. Warner Bros. employees who opened their laptops Tuesday morning saw them suddenly emblazoned with the new company’s logo over a field of stars. A link to a “global town hall” meeting, scheduled for 1 p.m., popped up. And an 1,705-word memo titled “Day 1” from Mr. Ellison and his co-chief executive, Ynon Kreiz, landed in their inboxes.
“We’re proud to write this next chapter with you,” they wrote. “Now the real work begins. Let’s go!”
The new company is a hard-fought prize. Mr. Ellison wrested Warner Bros. Discovery from a rival bidder, Netflix, after a monthslong tug of war that prompted him to make nine offers for the company.
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