It has been just over a year since Paramount Skydance began acquiring one of Hollywood’s most iconic institutions.
After multiple rejections, followed by a bidding war, a series of regulatory approvals, an antitrust challenge brought by state attorneys general, and a timely settlement, the company led by David Ellison is set to complete its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday.
The merged company—equivalent to one of the largest media conglomerates in history—will be renamed Skydance and trade under the ticker symbol “SKYD.” It will bring together two of the most legendary film studios and control nearly one-third of basic cable programming.
Here is the key timeline of Paramount's efforts to acquire WBD:
Basic Infrastructure Setup
June 9, 2025: Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to split into two publicly traded companies: one focused on streaming and production, and another on global networks. The plan to separate WBD’s film assets and streaming platforms from its cable television channels comes amid media companies’ efforts to address declining linear viewership and the broad shift toward streaming, while maintaining profitability.
August 7, 2025: Paramount completes its long-awaited merger with Skydance. Skydance, founded by Ellison—a tech executive and son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison—soon saw its newly appointed CEO, David Ellison, acquire the multi-year rights to UFC from TKO Group for $7.7 billion. Less than a month later, Ellison secured the rights to produce films based on the Call of Duty video game franchise and signed a multi-year agreement with the Duffer Brothers, creators of Stranger Things. In a letter to shareholders, Ellison outlined that this series of investments aligns with his plan to “define the next era of entertainment.”
Competition intensifies
September 11, 2025: CNBC reported that Paramount is preparing to make a takeover offer for Warner Bros. Discovery. On the day the news was announced, both companies' stock prices rose, with WBD posting its best single-day performance at the time.
Late September to early October 2025: Warner Bros. Discovery rejected three acquisition proposals from Paramount Skydance. At the time, CNBC reported that Paramount’s third offer was slightly below $24 per share, with 80% in cash. On October 13, Paramount stated in a letter to the WBD board that its proposal would deliver “superior value” to shareholders compared to the plan to split the company into two independent entities.
October 21, 2025: Warner Bros. Discovery stated it is open to a sale following “unsolicited interest” from multiple parties. CNBC reported that Netflix and Comcast are among the interested bidders. WBD said it will continue advancing its separation plan while conducting a “strategic review.”
Mid-November 2025: Comcast, Netflix, and Paramount formally submit takeover offers for Warner Bros. Discovery. Comcast and Netflix’s offers target the company’s film and streaming assets—Warner Bros. Studios and HBO Max. Paramount Skydance’s offer targets the entire WBD, including its linear television networks.
Trade executed
December 5, 2025: Netflix announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and streaming assets, with the transaction valued at nearly $83 billion on an enterprise value basis. WBD stated that it will spin off its television networks, including TNT and CNN, into a new entity called Discovery Global, consistent with its plan announced in June. Prior to the official announcement, Paramount Skydance’s legal team sent a letter to WBD CEO David Zaslav questioning the “fairness and adequacy” of the sale process and accusing WBD of favoring Netflix.
December 8, 2025: Paramount Skydance launches a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, attempting to overturn the Netflix agreement. Paramount announces it will make a direct all-cash offer of $30 per share to WBD shareholders. Ellison told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” upon announcing Paramount’s plan: “We’re truly here to finish what we started. We’ve taken this company to the market.”
January 7, 2026: Warner Bros. Discovery again rejected Paramount’s offer and intensified its support for the deal with Netflix. Despite assurances at the end of December that billionaire Larry Ellison would provide financing support for the Paramount-WBD transaction, the WBD board unanimously recommended that shareholders reject Paramount’s acquisition proposal.
January 12, 2026: Paramount sues Warner Bros. Discovery and Zaslav. The lawsuit requests the court to order WBD to provide more transparent information regarding why the company decided to enter into an agreement with Netflix rather than with Paramount.
January 20, 2026: Netflix revises its offer for WBD assets to an all-cash transaction. The new offer will enable Netflix to acquire WBD at $27.75 per share in cash, rather than a combination of cash and stock.
February 10, 2026: Paramount added additional incentives to the WBD deal while maintaining its unchanged cash offer of $30 per share in December. The new offer includes an “incremental fee” payable to WBD shareholders if the Paramount-WBD transaction is delayed due to waiting for regulatory approval. The offer also includes an agreement that Paramount will assume the $2.8 billion breakup fee owed to Netflix if the deal with Netflix fails to close.
February 17, 2026: Netflix granted WBD a seven-day waiver to resume negotiations with Paramount.
February 24, 2026: WBD stated that Paramount has raised its offer to $31 per share in cash.
February 26, 2026: The Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery fell through after the company declined to match Paramount’s $31 per share offer.
February 27, 2026: With Netflix out, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery sign final merger agreement.
April 23, 2026: Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approve Paramount's acquisition of the company.
Seek regulatory approval
June 12, 2026: The U.S. Department of Justice approves the Paramount-WBD merger, a crucial step toward securing full regulatory approval. The transaction is valued at approximately $110 billion on an enterprise value basis.
July 13, 2026: A group of state attorneys general, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, filed a lawsuit attempting to block the merger over antitrust concerns. The lawsuit alleges that if the merger proceeds, it could lead to higher prices and reduced content quality.
July 22, 2026: The European antitrust regulator approved Paramount’s acquisition of WBD, marking a major victory for Paramount on the global regulatory front. The approval came with several concessions: Paramount agreed to divest its stake in United International Pictures in Europe and committed to not entering into movie distribution agreements with Universal in Europe for the next 10 years.
July 24, 2026: Paramount agreed to extend the closing date to no later than June 2027, despite the transaction already being subject to a temporary restraining order. The threat of prolonged delay caused WBD to go on the sidelines and briefly chilled the broader media M&A market.
September 21, 2026: Paramount reaches a settlement with the state attorney general, allowing the merger between the two media giants to proceed. This comes less than two weeks before the incremental fees take effect and raise the transaction price. The settlement agreement includes a series of terms regarding the number of theatrical films the merged company will release annually and the required budgets for these films.
Approaching the finish line
September 30, 2026: With the final obstacle removed, Paramount announced that former Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz will serve as co-CEO of the merged company alongside Ellison. During his tenure at Mattel, Kreiz was known for turning around struggling businesses and leading the toy manufacturer’s expansion into entertainment, spearheading the 2023 theatrical release of Barbie.
October 2, 2026: Ellison announced that the merged company will be named Skydance after closing, and stated that this move will allow Paramount and Warner Bros. to maintain their independent brands.
October 5, 2026: Ellison and Kreiz announced their leadership team, including Bari Weiss and Mark Thompson, who will lead news operations for CBS and CNN respectively; content leaders Casey Bloys, George Cheeks, and JB Perrette will oversee streaming and television operations. CNBC reported that David Berson, head of CBS Sports, will take charge of Skydance’s global sports division.
—— Julia Boorstin, David Faber, Lillian Rizzo, Sara Salinas, Alex Sherman, and Sarah Whitten of CNBC contributed to this report.