US EditionParamount Debt to Hit US$79bil After Warner Bros Deal
The merger will create a streaming powerhouse with over 200 million subscribers and aims to cut $6 billion in costs amid industry layoffs, Paramount said.
- Updated March 2, 2026, Paramount signed the $110 billion deal for Warner Bros, with CEO David Ellison saying they will merge Paramount+ and HBO Max into one platform.
- A months-long bidding contest saw Paramount and Netflix trade rival offers for Warner's assets, but after Warner's board favored Paramount, Netflix declined to match and Paramount paid the $82.7 billion offer on Friday.
- Paramount strategy chief Andy Gordon said the deal should deliver more than $6 billion in savings, combining franchises like `Game of Thrones`, `Mission Impossible`, `Harry Potter`, `Top Gun`, DC Universe, and `SpongeBob SquarePants` with at least 30 films produced yearly.
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the state is investigating and will be `vigorous` in its review, while cinema operators warned the merger could cost jobs and Paramount aims to close in the third quarter.
- Paramount, led by David Ellison, has deep ties to the Trump administration, which some analysts said could help secure favorable regulatory treatment, and they hope staffers will band together to create new companies in coming months.
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After Paramount in the summer of 2025, the CEO of the small production company Skydance managed to take Warner Bros Discovery to the nose and beard of the Netflix streaming giant. Good news for Donald Trump.
S&P Weighs In On Media Mega-Merger: Puts Paramount On CreditWatch Negative But Says WBD Deal Will “Materially Improve” Its Business Profile
S&P Global Ratings said it’s placed all of its ratings of Paramount Skydance on what’s called CreditWatch with negative implications, reflecting increased leverage well above the agency’s threshold if the merger with Warner Bros. Discovery goes through. That said, the agency believes the deal “will materially improve Paramount’s business profile by significantly expanding the breadth […]
Why Paramount went looney tunes for Warner Bros. : The Indicator from Planet Money
Paramount Skydance is making a $110 billion play for Warner Bros. Discovery, and with it intellectual property like Harry Potter, Batman, and subsidiaries HBO and CNN. On today’s show, who is the man behind the deal? Does he really want to make movies? Will any regulators try to stop it? FYI, we are going on a book tour! Planet Money’s first ever book comes out in April. We’ll be celebrating in about a dozen cities. There’s a limited edition tot…
Paramount debt to hit US$79bil after Warner Bros deal
NEW YORK: The Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros Discovery merger will create a combined entity that would have a net debt of about US$79 billion, Paramount said on Monday, ruling out any plan to divest or spin off the cable assets.
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