{"id":126603,"date":"2025-08-07T14:59:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T14:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/126603\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T14:59:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T14:59:11","slug":"paramount-skydance-deal-closes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/126603\/","title":{"rendered":"Paramount Skydance Deal Closes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tDavid Ellison\u2019s Skydance<\/a> Media has closed its $8 billion merger with Paramount Global<\/a> to create new company Paramount, a Skydance Corporation, the parties announced Thursday.<\/p>\n

\n\tUnder Skydance, Paramount will be restructured into three divisions: studios, direct-to-consumer and TV media.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn an open letter released with the deal close, Ellison, who will serve as Paramount chairman and CEO, reiterated Skydance\u2019s promise to realize $2 billion in cost synergies post-merger, adding he now has \u201cgreater confidence in our ability to not only achieve \u2014 but meaningfully exceed\u201d that figure through plans to \u201ctransition the entire enterprise to a single technology platform.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cToday marks Day One of a new Paramount,\u201d Ellison said. \u201cI am thrilled and honored to write to you as Chairman and CEO, as \u2014 together with our Board, our new executive leadership team, and our colleagues around the world \u2014 we embark on the exciting next chapter of this legendary company.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe new Paramount CEO added: \u201cMoving forward, we will work with conviction and optimism to transform Paramount into a tech-forward company that blends the creative heart of Hollywood with the innovative spirit of Silicon Valley. By harnessing cutting-edge technologies to serve great storytelling, we will unlock the company\u2019s enormous potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe new logo for Paramount, a Skydance Corporation
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tParamount Skydance Corp.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe finalization of the acquisition follows the FCC\u2019s July 24 approval of the deal, which came after\u00a0Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to President Donald Trump to settle his lawsuit against CBS<\/a>\u00a0over a \u201c60 Minutes\u201d interview with Kamala Harris, and more than a year after Skydance and Paramount first announced the agreement on July 7, 2024. <\/p>\n

\n\tSEE ALSO: For Paramount, Hundreds of Job Cuts Loom Once Skydance Merger Is Completed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIn his letter, Ellison called CBS News \u201chome to one of the most storied American broadcast journalism legacies in America\u201d and gave a shout-out to \u201c60 Minutes,\u201d which he said has \u201ca long tradition of impactful reporting led by seasoned journalists committed to accuracy, integrity and public trust.\u201d In April, Bill Owens, executive producer of \u201c60 Minutes,\u201d\u00a0announced he would leave the show<\/a> citing interference from Paramount execs as preventing him from making \u201cindependent decisions based on what was right for \u201860 Minutes,\u2019 right for the audience.\u201d\u00a0CBS News last month named \u201c60 Minutes\u201d veteran Tanya Simon the newsmagazine\u2019s new executive producer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs the Paramount-Skydance deal closes, Larry Ellison (father of David Ellison), Skydance and Gerry Cardinale\u2019s RedBird Capital have purchased Shari Redstone\u2019s shares of National Amusements Inc. (which owned 77% of the voting power in Paramount Global). Shareholders of NAI received $1.75 billion in cash upon the deal\u2019s close, and\u00a0Redstone is exiting the merged company\u2019s board<\/a>. (Shari Redstone owned 20% of NAI, with the remainder held in a Redstone family trust.) Skydance this week announced its 10 designated board members<\/a> for the new Paramount, which include former Paramount Pictures chief Sherry Lansing and Oracle CEO Safra Catz.<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount will remain publicly traded, as Paramount Global was, but the Ellison family will control the company. The company begins trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the new \u201cPSKY\u201d ticker symbol Thursday.<\/p>\n

\n\tMoving forward, Ellison says Paramount-owned streamers Paramount+ and Pluto TV will operate on a unified technology stack beginning in 2026. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe company remains vague on plans for Paramount\u2019s cable offering, with Ellison writing in his Thursday note: \u201cOn the TV Media side, our challenge is to reinvent our portfolio of brands for a non-linear world. We plan to invest appropriately based on the future business opportunity, thereby maximizing cash flow so we can reinvest in our growth businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEllison serves as CEO of Paramount and Jeff Shell (former CEO of NBCUniversal) has been tapped as president.<\/p>\n

\n\tOf the three Paramount Global co-CEOs, only George Cheeks (previously CEO of CBS) will remain with the new company as chair of the TV media segment.\u00a0Chris McCarthy, of Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, is departing<\/a>, as is\u00a0Robbins, CEO of\u00a0Paramount\u00a0Pictures and Nickelodeon<\/a>. Other senior Paramount Global execs are also exiting, including Paramount Streaming CEO Tom Ryan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tEllison has already outlined the majority of his senior leadership team<\/a> for the new company, including:<\/p>\n