NEW YORK CITY, New York: Paramount Skydance completed its US$110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6, bringing some of Hollywood's best-known film studios, television networks and streaming services together under a new entertainment company called Skydance.

The deal gives CEO David Ellison control of one of the world's largest entertainment companies, combining the studios behind "Mission: Impossible," "Harry Potter" and DC Studios with major television and streaming networks including CBS, CNN, Paramount+ and HBO Max.

Shares of the combined company moved from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday to trade under the ticker "SKYD."

Settlements with a coalition of US states and a Hollywood writers union removed the main legal barriers to the merger, one of the largest in media history. It comes as Hollywood faces declining cable-TV subscriptions, the high cost of competing for streaming audiences and persistent pressure from unions over jobs and creative workers' rights.

Ellison said last week the Skydance name was chosen to retain the individual identities of Paramount and Warner Bros. studios, rather than combining them under a new brand.

Analysts, however, said the name reinforces the extent of Ellison's control, highlighting how some of Hollywood's most iconic brands now answer to him and how he can impose his strategy and culture.

In just 16 years, Skydance has gone from an independent studio to the center of one of Hollywood's biggest power plays. Founded in 2010 by the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, it built its reputation as a financial backer and producer of Paramount's blockbuster "Top Gun: Maverick."

After merging with Paramount last year, Skydance set its sights on Warner Bros., entering a heated bidding contest with Netflix while drawing interest from other potential suitors, including Comcast.

Warner Bros shareholders received an additional $41.9 million in "ticking fee," based on the number of days between September-end and the deal-closing, according to a regulatory filing.

Broader Hollywood Bet

Ellison named Mattel's former CEO Ynon Kreiz co-CEO of Skydance to run day-to-day operations and lead the integration, while Ellison oversees creative direction and overall strategy.

The duo faces the task of combining two large companies while delivering $6 billion in planned cost savings, a big part of which Paramount said would come from "non-labor sources", by combining streaming technologies and cloud providers of the two companies. However, the scale of the cuts is expected to affect jobs across Hollywood.

Skydance plans to combine its streaming services, including HBO Max and Paramount+, into a single service and has pledged to release at least 30 films each in the first two years after closing, rising to 32 a year for the following three.

The combined company is also expected to carry about $80 billion in debt, putting pressure on Ellison to grow streaming, preserve cash flow from cable networks and improve theatrical film performance.

Analysts at MoffettNathanson forecast EBITDA of $16 billion for 2028, rising to $19 billion in 2030. The brokerage also predicted about $67 billion in revenue in 2028, growing to roughly $70 billion in 2030.

CNN chief Mark Thompson and CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss will continue in their respective leadership roles.

Ellison's annual base salary will be $5 million, with a target annual bonus of $5 million, according to the filing.