Key points: Paramount acquired Warner Bros. Discovery for $110 billion, with the deal closing on Tuesday. The combined new company is named Skydance and trades under the ticker SKYD. CEO David Ellison fought for more than a year, overcoming multiple bidding wars and antitrust litigation to take control of Warner Bros. Discovery's film studios, television networks, and the HBO Max streaming business.

On November 9, 2025, at the Paramount Pictures lot in Los Angeles, California, just over a year had passed since Paramount-Skydance Group launched its plan to acquire one of Hollywood's most iconic companies. After multiple rejected bids, a bidding war, numerous rounds of regulatory review, and antitrust lawsuits filed by state attorneys general, a timely settlement was finally reached. The company led by David Ellison officially completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday.

The merger created one of the largest media conglomerates in history, with the new company named Skydance and trading under the ticker SKYD. Two legendary film studios were brought under one group, controlling nearly one-third of basic cable programming resources. Below is a look at the key timeline of Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery:

Laying the groundwork

June 9, 2025: Warner Bros. Discovery announced it would split into two publicly traded companies, one focused on streaming and film and the other operating global television networks. Facing declining traditional cable viewership and an industry-wide shift toward streaming, Warner planned to separate its film assets, streaming platform, and cable television channels.

August 7, 2025: Paramount completed its merger with Skydance. Skydance was founded by tech executive David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Shortly after the merger, new CEO David Ellison secured multi-year UFC broadcast rights; within a month, he obtained film adaptation rights to certain IP and signed a deal with the Duffer Brothers. These investments aligned with the vision Ellison laid out in his letter to shareholders: defining the next era of the entertainment industry.

The bidding war begins

September 11, 2025: Reports said Paramount-Skydance made an offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. News of the bid sent shares of both companies surging that day, with Warner Bros. Discovery posting its best single-day gain at the time.

Late September to early October 2025: Warner Bros. Discovery rejected Paramount's acquisition offers three times. Reports at the time said Paramount's third-round bid was slightly below $24 per share, with 80% paid in cash. In an October 13 letter to Warner's board, Paramount questioned Warner's plan to split into two independent companies.

October 21, 2025: After receiving unsolicited interest from multiple parties, Warner Bros. Discovery formally launched a sale process. Reports said Netflix and Comcast were both interested buyers. Warner said it would continue advancing its split plan while conducting a strategic review.

Mid-November 2025: Multiple companies submitted acquisition proposals for Warner Bros. Discovery. Comcast and Netflix only bid for the film and streaming assets, namely Warner Bros. Studios and HBO Max; Paramount-Skydance proposed acquiring all of Warner Bros. Discovery's assets, including its traditional television networks.

The deal takes shape

December 5, 2025: Netflix planned to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery's film and streaming assets at an enterprise valuation of nearly $83 billion. Warner said it would spin off television networks including TNT and CNN into Discovery Global as outlined in its June plan. Before the official announcement, Paramount-Skydance's legal team sent a letter to Warner CEO David Zaslav questioning the sale process and accusing Warner of favoring Netflix.

December 8, 2025: Paramount-Skydance launched a hostile bid aimed at overturning Warner's agreement with Netflix. Paramount announced a direct tender offer to Warner shareholders at $30 per share in all cash. Announcing the plan on the program "Street Forum," Ellison said: "We are simply going to complete the acquisition we started. We are the ones who put this deal on the table."

January 7, 2026: Warner Bros. Discovery again rejected Paramount's offer and firmly pressed ahead with its Netflix deal. Although Paramount secured financing guarantees in late December, Warner's board unanimously recommended that shareholders reject Paramount's tender offer.

January 12, 2026: Paramount sued Warner Bros. Discovery and CEO Zaslav, asking a court to order Warner to disclose more transparently why it chose Netflix over Paramount for the deal.

January 20, 2026: Netflix revised its acquisition proposal to an all-cash transaction. Under the new plan, Netflix would acquire Warner shares at $27.75 per share in cash, rather than a cash-and-stock mix.

February 10, 2026: Paramount improved its offer terms but kept the $30 per share cash price proposed in December unchanged. The new offer added a ticking fee: if the Paramount-Warner deal were delayed by regulatory approvals, Warner shareholders would receive that compensation; Paramount also committed to bearing the $2.8 billion breakup fee owed to Netflix if the Warner-Netflix deal were terminated.

February 17, 2026: Netflix agreed to let Warner reopen merger negotiations with Paramount.

February 24, 2026: Warner Bros. Discovery said Paramount raised its cash offer to $31 per share.

February 26, 2026: Netflix declined to match Paramount's $31 per share offer and withdrew from the bidding.

February 27, 2026: With Netflix out and obstacles cleared, Paramount-Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery signed a final merger agreement.

April 23, 2026: Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted to approve the merger.

Securing regulatory approval

June 12, 2026: The U.S. Department of Justice approved the deal at an enterprise valuation of about $110 billion, a key step toward full regulatory clearance.

July 13, 2026: Attorneys general from multiple states filed a lawsuit seeking to block the merger on antitrust grounds. The complaint said the merger could raise content prices and reduce content quality.

July 22, 2026: The European Commission approved the merger, a major win for Paramount on the global regulatory front. The approval came with several commitments: Paramount would divest its stake in Europe's United International Pictures and pledged not to enter film distribution agreements with Universal Pictures in Europe for 10 years.

July 24, 2026: With the merger already facing delay risk, Paramount came under renewed antitrust pressure. The risk of a lengthy approval delay sparked broader market discussion about the media industry's M&A environment.

September 21, 2026: Paramount reached a settlement with state attorneys general, clearing the way for the merger of the two media giants. At that point, less than two weeks remained before the ticking fee would take effect and raise the deal price. The settlement included commitments setting a minimum number of theatrical film releases and a minimum film budget for the combined company each year.

On the eve of closing

September 30, 2026: The final obstacle was cleared, and Yinon Kreiz would serve as co-CEO of the new company alongside Ellison. Kreiz had worked at Mattel, leading the toy company's push into entertainment and driving the 2023 theatrical release of "Barbie."

October 2, 2026: Ellison announced that the combined company would be named Skydance after the deal closed. He said the move would preserve the separate Paramount and Warner Bros. brands.

October 5, 2026: Ellison and Kreiz unveiled the new company's executive team: Barry Weiss and Mark Thompson would oversee CBS and CNN news operations, respectively; Kathy Bluis, George Cheeks, and JB Perrette would lead streaming and television. Reports said CBS sports chief David Berson would take over Skydance's global sports group.

October 6, 2026: The acquisition officially closed, giving birth to the new entertainment group Skydance.