Skydance becomes the Warner Bros.–Paramount combined company; David Ellison starts a new chapter
David Ellison pulled back the curtain on what Paramount and Warner Bros. will be called once their deal closes.
When the Paramount –Warner Bros. Discovery merger wraps, the corporate banner flying over it won’t be either legacy name. It’ll be Skydance —the identity of the studio David Ellison founded two decades ago. Ellison revealed the choice on X (formerly Twitter), adding that Paramount and Warner Bros. will continue as labels under the new parent company rather than disappear into it.
“Paramount and Warner Bros. shaped over a century of culture. By combining them, we aren’t rewriting history – we’re equipping these iconic studios with a more powerful engine. Together, we are Skydance: a creative-first home for bold, quality storytelling. ”
The name is meant to give the merged giant a neutral corporate identity while keeping the marquee studios front and center on movies, shows, and marketing. In other words: you’ll still see the mountain and the shield; they’ll just report up to Skydance at the top.
What’s under the roof
The deal bundles two major streamers and a sprawling TV portfolio alongside the film studios:
- Streamers — Paramount+, Max
- Networks — CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS, Comedy Central, Food Network
It also corrals a deep bench of franchises and libraries, now housed in one corporate home:
- Harry Potter , The Lord of the Rings , Game of Thrones
- DC characters and films
- Yellowstone universe
- Mission: Impossible , Top Gun
- The expansive Nickelodeon catalog
Money and control
The merger arrives with a heavy tab. The combined company is set to carry debt projected at more than $80 billion, tied to inherited obligations and new financing. Paramount is issuing roughly $42.4 billion in bonds, plus about $8.5 billion and €850 million in new loans. Control sits with David Ellison, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and RedBird Capital’s Gerry Cardinale. Larry Ellison has personally guaranteed about $46.7 billion in equity financing, and, according to corporate filings, sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have committed around $24 billion and will collectively hold a 38.5% stake.
The merger is expected to officially close on October 6, when the Skydance name becomes the parent-company brand and Paramount and Warner Bros. continue as sub-brands beneath it.