Skydance Completes $78B Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery; WBD Delisted from Nasdaq

summarizeSummary

Skydance Corporation completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6, 2026, paying $31.01666668 per share in cash (~$78 billion total). WBD common stock was delisted from Nasdaq, all incumbent directors and officers departed, and the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Skydance. The combined company, named Skydance, began trading on the NYSE under ticker SKYD, with David Ellison as CEO and Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO, and plans for $6 billion in savings and $30 billion annual content spending.

check_boxKey Events · M&A and Partnerships · WBD

• New · Oct 6 · CNBC TV18

  Leadership and Governance of Combined Company

  CEO David Ellison named Ynon Kreiz co-CEO. Ynon Kreiz will run day-to-day operations and lead integration, while David Ellison oversees creative direction and strategy. Ynon Kreiz, Bobby Kotick, and Laurene Powell Jobs were appointed to the company's board. Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair will join the company as an adviser.

• New · Oct 6 · CNBC TV18

  Plans for Savings and Content Spending

  David Ellison outlined plans for $6 billion in savings and $30 billion annual content spending. A big part of the $6 billion in planned savings will come from non-labor sources, including combining technology and cloud providers.

• New · Oct 6 · CNBC TV18

  Executive Compensation

  David Ellison's annual base salary will be $5 million, with a target annual bonus of $5 million.

• New · Oct 6 · CNBC TV18

  Acquiring Entity and Legal Settlements

  The acquiring entity is Paramount Skydance, which had previously merged with Paramount. Settlements with a coalition of US states and a Hollywood writers union removed legal barriers to the merger.

• New · Oct 6 · CNBC TV18

  News Leadership and Editorial Independence

  CNN chief Mark Thompson and CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss will continue in their roles and report to Ellison and Kreiz. Ellison agreed to create an editorial independence board to oversee CNN and CBS.

• Updated · Oct 6 · CNBC TV18

  Merger Completed; Combined Company Begins Trading as Skydance

  Skydance Corporation completed its acquisition of WBD on October 6, 2026. Each share of WBD Series A common stock was converted into the right to receive $31.01666668 in cash, including ticking consideration of $0.00277778 per day accrued after September 30, 2026. The combined company, named Skydance, began trading on the NYSE under ticker SKYD.

• Updated · Oct 6 · CNBC TV18

  Aggregate Consideration ~$78B; Total Merger Consideration $110B

  Total merger consideration payable by Skydance is approximately $78 billion, funded through a combination of equity financing and debt financing. Aggregate ticking consideration was $41,886,975.78. The total merger consideration for the takeover is $110 billion.

• Delisting from Nasdaq

  WBD requested Nasdaq halt trading and withdraw WBD common stock from listing. Form 25 will be filed to effect delisting and deregistration under Section 12(b). The 4.302% Senior Notes due 2030 and 4.693% Senior Notes due 2033 will also be delisted from the Nasdaq Global Market.

• Leadership Change

  All 13 incumbent directors — including David Zaslav — and six named officers ceased their roles at the effective time. Merger Sub's directors and officers assumed control of WBD. Zaslav separates from employment October 6, 2026; Wiedenfels, Campbell, and Aiyar separate October 16, 2026.

auto_awesomeAnalysis · WBD · Technology

The merger that has dominated WBD's news flow since February closed today. Shareholders receive $31.01666668 per share in cash — a figure that includes ticking consideration accrued since September 30. The deal was funded with a mix of equity and debt, and WBD is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Skydance Corporation. Trading in WBD common stock halted and the shares were withdrawn from Nasdaq; the company will file Form 25 to complete delisting and deregistration. All 13 incumbent directors and six named officers — including CEO David Zaslav and CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels — left their roles at the effective time, replaced by Merger Sub's board and officers. The filing also discloses $7.94 million in transaction bonuses to three named executive officers and a board ratification of 396,804 RSU grants and 120,000 share issuances that occurred after the 2005 Non-Employee Director Incentive Plan expired. The combined company, named Skydance, began trading on the NYSE under ticker SKYD; CEO David Ellison named Ynon Kreiz co-CEO and outlined plans for $6 billion in savings and $30 billion annual content spending. The acquiring entity is Paramount Skydance, which had previously merged with Paramount, and the total merger consideration for the takeover is $110 billion, while the total merger consideration payable by Skydance is approximately $78 billion. Settlements with a coalition of US states and a Hollywood writers union removed legal barriers to the merger. CNN chief Mark Thompson and CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss will continue in their roles and report to Ellison and Kreiz, and Ellison agreed to create an editorial independence board to oversee CNN and CBS. Ynon Kreiz, Bobby Kotick, and Laurene Powell Jobs were appointed to the company's board, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair will join the company as an adviser. A big part of the $6 billion in planned savings will come from non-labor sources, including combining technology and cloud providers. David Ellison's annual base salary will be $5 million, with a target annual bonus of $5 million. Ynon Kreiz will run day-to-day operations and lead integration, while David Ellison oversees creative direction and strategy. This is the terminal event for WBD as a public company.