Paramount Skydance Completes Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery
Event Reviewed Automatically reviewed for factual accuracy, tone, and neutrality. Review does not check claims against cited sources. Last reviewed 18 October 2026.Paramount Skydance closes its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing CNN and CBS News under one corporate owner led by David Ellison.
Brings CNN and CBS News under one owner; prompts press-freedom objections.
On October 6, 2026, Paramount Skydance completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a transaction valued at $110 billion including debt. The combined company took the name Skydance and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange as SKYD. David Ellison, who founded Skydance Media in 2010 and whose company merged with Paramount in 2025, became chief executive, with former Mattel chief executive Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO. The company’s holdings include two national television news organizations, CNN and CBS News; Mark Thompson continued to lead CNN, and Bari Weiss remained editor-in-chief of CBS News.
Path to Closing
Paramount’s offer valued Warner Bros. Discovery at $31 per share. In February 2026 the Warner Bros. Discovery board judged it superior to a competing bid from Netflix. A coalition of 12 state attorneys general led by California sued to block the merger, and the Writers Guild of America also challenged it. Both were settled in September 2026. Paramount’s commitments included film-production and theatrical-release obligations, support for displaced workers, and a five-member News Editorial Independence Board for CNN and CBS News, to be formed within 180 days. Justice Elena Kagan of the Supreme Court denied a last-minute request to halt the deal on the day it closed.
Reaction
The board’s members are appointed by, and report to, the company’s board of directors, and it is not required to publish its findings. Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation called “a Paramount-appointed editorial independence board for CNN and CBS” “worthless.” Nine groups including Reporters Without Borders described the merger as an “existential threat to the free press, independent media, and free speech.” Senator Elizabeth Warren said that “as Trump tries to ban CNN from the White House, it would be a massive mistake to cave on the Paramount merger.” Asked about the takeover, President Donald Trump said, “They’re terrific people, and it’s going to be a great company.”
Sources
- 01.
Reuters. Paramount completes $110B Warner Bros. merger to form Skydance. (2026). Reuters report dated October 6, 2026. Source for the closing date, the $110 billion value, Skydance's 2010 founding by David Ellison and its 2025 merger with Paramount, the combined company being named Skydance and trading on the NYSE as SKYD, David Ellison as CEO with Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO, Mark Thompson continuing to lead CNN and Bari Weiss continuing as CBS News editor-in-chief, roughly $80 billion of combined debt, and the planned $6 billion in cost savings.
- 02.
Yahoo Finance. Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger closes after nearly yearlong battle, paving the way for Skydance. (2026). Source for the $31-per-share price, the Warner Bros. Discovery board deeming Paramount's offer superior to Netflix's competing bid in February 2026, the settlement with a dozen states including California, and Justice Elena Kagan denying a last-minute effort to halt the deal.
- 03.
Al Jazeera. Why Paramount-Warner merger has sparked fears about press freedom. (2026). Dated October 7, 2026. Source for the September 2026 settlements with a California-led coalition of 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America; the five-member News Editorial Independence Board appointed by and reporting to the company's board, with no requirement to publish findings; Seth Stern's and the nine press-freedom groups' statements; Elizabeth Warren's statement; and Donald Trump's comment on the takeover.
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