The merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery has been finalised: since Tuesday, the merged group has been operating under the name Skydance. At the same time, the shares in the new company are listed under the ticker symbol SKYD traded on the Nasdaq; trading in Warner Bros. Discovery shares has now ceased.

Skydance estimates the turnover of the merged company at just under 70 billion dollars. The group includes, amongst others, the Paramount and Warner Bros. film studios, Paramount+ and HBO Max, as well as a wide range of TV, sport and news services. According to the company, the group has more than 200 million streaming subscribers.

Skydance is planning an annual cinema release of at least 30 films. A cinema window of at least 45 days is planned for all titles. The collaboration with independent producers is also to continue.

At the same time, the new group is set to implement a wide-ranging cost-cutting programme. Skydance expects, within three years, more than 6 billion dollars in synergies. Cost savings are to be achieved, amongst other things, through the integration of technology and procurement, the optimisation of marketing and a reduction in the property portfolio. The net debt ratio is set to fall to 3.0 times by the end of 2029.

Despite the planned cost-cutting measures, Skydance intends to maintain a high level of investment in content. Pro forma expenditure on content over the past twelve months totalled more than 30 billion dollars. Free cash flow is expected to rise to more than 10 billion dollars by 2030.

At the helm of the new group are David Ellison as Chairman and CEO, and Ynon Kreiz as Co-CEO. The film studios are run by Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein conducted. James Gunn and Peter Safran will remain at the helm of DC Studios.