Paramount Closes Merger With Warner Bros. Discovery to Form Skydance

Paramount closed its deal to acquire Warner Bros.Discovery on Tuesday, putting the tech scion David Ellison in control of a vast media empire that oversees many of Hollywood’s most valuable properties.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 Tuesday morning that Mr.

Ellison was moving at lightning speed to take control of his new empire.Across CNN’s headquarters in Manhattan, monitors were suddenly emblazoned with the Skydance corporate logo.

He also scheduled a town hall meeting later in the afternoon to address the entire company.Mr.Ellison and his co-chief executive, Ynon Kreiz, sent a 1,705-word memo to employees titled “Day 1” on Tuesday that amounted to a corporate manifesto, pledging to “take on some of the largest technology and media companies in the world and to lead in an evolving entertainment landscape.” It also alluded to the prospect of cost-cutting.“Integrating two companies will bring change, including difficult decisions that affect our workforce,” Mr.

Ellison and Mr.Kreiz wrote.

“We are committed to handling this process thoughtfully and respectfully.”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.

It was created over the objections of a coalition of state attorneys general who sued to block the deal on antitrust grounds.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log...