Paramount Skydance

The Ellison family got what it wanted By Sofía Torres on September 21, 2026 It finally happened. After months and almost endless reports, Paramount Skydance is preparing to close the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery after reaching agreements with the states and the writers' union that were trying to block it. David Ellison informed his employees that the operation is entering its decisive stage, although the obligations accepted by the company and the criticisms from its opponents accompany the announcement. The agreement announced on Monday will allow the operation to proceed, merging film studios, streaming services, and journalistic organizations under a single owner.

However, resolving the lawsuits is not the same as having completed the acquisition, as the agreement still requires judicial approval. The company celebrates the result, but those who question Hollywood's concentration maintain their reservations. Ellison informed staff that he expects to complete the purchase in approximately two weeks. In his message, he also warned that integrating two companies of that size will take time, so the financial closing would merely open another stage of work for the teams. The acquisition represents about 81 billion dollars for Warner Bros.

Discovery shares and approximately 111 billion dollars when including debt. Paramount committed to compensating Warner shareholders with around seven million dollars daily if the operation remains open after September 30. 5 billion dollars in American film production over five years, equivalent to 300 million dollars annually. 5 million dollars will be allocated to a fund to support the training and professional development of workers displaced by the merger. ': 'We made over 130 episodes' The commitment to releases will have two stages, with 30 films annually during the first two years and 32 in each of the following three.

Failure to comply would imply divesting the stake in Miramax and paying 30 million dollars for each missing film to health and retirement funds linked to the WGA and other unions. For basic cable channels, Paramount must negotiate separately the packages currently belonging to each company for five years. States seek to prevent combining them from facilitating price increases. Additionally, an editorial independence council will be created to oversee the news operations of CBS and CNN, two sensitive assets of the business. Rob Bonta, California's attorney general and leader of the coalition of twelve states, defended the conditions obtained without withdrawing his objections to the business merger.

During his appearance in Los Angeles, he maintained that the purpose of the agreement was to protect jobs and the incomes of families dependent on the audiovisual industry. "I don't believe these two companies should merge," he declared in defense of the result obtained through independent oversight and production commitments. He also acknowledged the risk of taking the case to trial and the uncertainty that a still longer dispute would have entailed.