Paramount, Skydance Finalize Merger Deal to Renew Streaming Competition

Paramount and Skydance have finalized their merger deal expected to revitalize the Hollywood studio's position in the ever-growing music and video streaming market competition.

First reported by Bloomberg, Paramount's board of directors has agreed on its proposed merger with Skydance bringing several exclusive franchises from across several streaming platforms.

Skydance CEO David Ellison will lead the combined entertainment giant as Paramount's remaining major shareholder concedes her non-executive leadership.

Paramount's parent company National Amusements still has 45 days to shop for another merger option as the federal regulator reviews it, although experts believe the deal is already final.

Skydance has previously helped Paramount, who was struggling with its massive $15.8 billion debt, to produce several of its successful titles, including "Mission: Impossible," "Star Trek," "Transformers," and "Top Gun."

Skydance was founded in 2010 to become "a diversified media company to create high-quality content" by David Ellison, the son of Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison.

Paramount-Skydance Merger: What to Expect

For one, the merger is expected to bring back a lot of new shows and accessibility features into the Paramount+ streaming service.

This includes several films, shows, animation, and video games Skydance has produced over the years with its collaboration with other streaming services and franchise owners.

Similar situations with Warner Bros. can also be expected to happen on Paramount-owned and affiliated businesses following a merger deal to salvage the legacy company from bankruptcy.

This would likely mean more projects being canned to save expenses, another subscription price increase for Paramount+, and the company focusing on its most successful franchises to garner an audience.

Regulators Likely to Approve Paramount-Skydance Merger

Following regulatory scrutiny in Sony and Apollo's previous interest to acquire Paramount for $26 billion, the same situation seems unlikely to happen with its merger deal with Skydance.

For one, the deal has been going since April and has been met with little regulatory disapproval amid Paramount's shareholders becoming less excited over the deal.

The finalization of the merger deal might signal that Skydance has already brokered better compensation deals for the old shareholders, including Ellison.