On Oct. 6, Paramount officially acquired Warner Bros. Discovery for about $110 billion.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s plan to split its films and streaming platform, HBO Max, from its cable channels was announced June 9, 2025.
On Aug. 7, 2025, Skydance Media acquired Paramount Global for $8 billion. The first reports of their interest in Warner Bros. Discovery came in September 2025.
Warner Bros. Discovery officially announced it is open for sale after multiple groups showed “unsolicited interest” on Oct. 21, 2025.
In mid-November, Netflix and Comcast submitted formal offers for Warner Bros. Discovery’s films and its streaming platform. The offer submitted by Paramount Skydance included the cable channels as well as the films and streaming platform.
Many important events happened throughout December. Warner Bros. Discovery announced an agreement to sell its film rights and streaming platform to Netflix for an $82.7 billion cash and stock acquisition on Dec. 5.
On Dec. 8, Paramount Skydance continued to campaign to convince Warner Bros. Discovery that it had a stronger proposal than Netflix. David Ellison, Chief Executive Officer of Skydance Media, made his rounds on multiple news outlets.
During Ellison’s interview with CNBC, Ellison said: “We are trying to combine the number four streamer with the number five streamer. When you put Paramount and HBO Max together, you get round numbers, 200 million subscribers. That creates a streaming service that is competitive with Disney.”
Ellison also said that combining Netflix* the number one streaming platform, with HBO Max, the number three streaming platform, leads to Netflix having “unprecedented market power”.
“This deal, if it is allowed to move forward, will actually be the death of the theatrical movie business in Hollywood. We’re sitting here today trying to save it,” Ellison said.
Ellison then said that the Paramount Skydance offer of $30 per share was stronger than Netflix’s offer of $23 per share.
Despite Ellison’s efforts, Warner Bros. Discovery’s shareholders made a unanimous decision to reject Paramount Skydance’s offer. Paramount Skydance would send in yet another offer Dec. 22.
In January, Warner Bros. Discovery’s shareholders rejected Paramount Skydance’s offer yet again. Paramount Skydance sued Warner Bros. Discovery and the company’s CEO David Zaslav over wanting clearer communication from Warner Bros. Discovery about why it chose Netflix over Paramount Skydance.
On Jan. 20, Netflix changed its deal with Warner Bros. Discovery from a cash and stock acquisition to an all-cash deal. To try to combat that, Paramount Skydance added a “ticking fee” to its offer as well as offering to pay the $2.8 billion fee Warner Bros. Discovery would owe Netflix if it were to break its contract.
On Feb. 17, Warner Bros. Discovery revealed it would reopen negotiations with Paramount Skydance for a weeklong window. During that time, Paramount Skydance increased its offer to $31 per share. Netflix decided to walk away from the deal after realizing it was financially too much.
Various celebrities such as Jane Fonda, Hannah Einbinder and Mark Ruffalo were vocally opposed to the merger. An open letter was written and a petition to block the merger gained over 5,000 signatures. Others supported the merger. Both Eduardo Acuna, the CEO of Regal Cinemas, and Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Theaters, made public endorsements for the merger.
In April, Paramount Skydance’s acquisition was officially approved by Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders. Paramount Skydance announced that 15.1% equity of the company will go to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Sovereign wealth funds from Qatar and Abu Dhabi would also have equity in the company.
In June, the Justice Department approved the Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery merger. In July, California’s Rob Bonta led a group of state attorneys general in a lawsuit to block the merger. The same month, the Writers Guild of America also filed a lawsuit to block the merger.
The European Commission approved Paramount Skydance’s acquisition on July 21.
Ellison announced plans to move Paramount Skydance out of California. Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation shared that this could cost California billions.
In late September, Paramount Skydance and the state attorney general were able to reach a settlement in the lawsuit. The settlement involved protections for those impacted by the merger.
On Oct. 2, it was announced that upon the closing of the merger, the company will be renamed Skydance Corporation. The approximately $110 billion merger finally closed Oct. 6.
