Warner Bros. Timeline of Paramount’s Acquisition of Discovery

It was a beautiful journey. David Ellison’s quest to control two iconic Hollywood studios is finally complete; An exciting new chapter has been added to the storied recent history of Hollywood mega-mergers.

On Tuesday morning, October 6, Paramount-Warner Bros. The Discovery merger has officially ended. The new company, Skydance Corp., combines film and TV assets into a massive company saddled with nearly $80 billion in debt.

The storyline includes appearances from colorful subjects like President Donald Trump, 12 blue state attorneys general, Netflix, Middle East sovereign wealth funds, the Block the Merger coalition, Mark Ruffalo, David Zaslav and many more. Here’s a timeline of how it all happened.

7 August 2025: Skydance Media has completed its $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global after a tumultuous year-long closing process.

September 2025: David Ellison’s David Zaslav and Warner Bros. First rumblings of proposals for Discovery’s board surface

October 21, 2025: Warner Bros. Discovery is officially launching the sale process “in light of unsolicited interest” the company has received from “multiple parties.”

November 2025: Netflix, Comcast and Skydance Media, Warner Bros. Offers offers for all or part of Discovery.

December 5, 2025: Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery’s Warner Bros. and won the bidding process when it announced an $82.7 billion cash and stock purchase deal to sell HBO (but not CNN, TNT and other cable channels) to the streaming giant.

December 8, 2025: Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros. He’s upping the ante by launching a tender offer for Discovery shares and launching a campaign to persuade WBD shareholders to back his bid. “Our offering is superior to Netflix’s in every way,” David Ellison told Wall Street analysts on a conference call.

December 17, 2025: Warner Bros. Discovery’s board of directors unanimously recommended that shareholders reject Paramount’s tender offer.

December 22, 2025: Warner Bros. Discovery receives amended tender offer from Paramount

January 7: WBD’s board of directors unanimously recommended that shareholders reject the latest Paramount tender offer.

January 20: Netflix approached Warner Bros. in an effort to counter pressure from Paramount’s repeated offers. and agreed to revise its deal to acquire HBO in an all-cash manner.

February 10: Paramount is adding a “transition fee” to its offer, promising to pay WBD shareholders $650 million every three months if the transaction is not closed after December 31, 2026.

February 17: WBD has set March 20 for a special meeting of shareholders to vote on the Netflix transaction. At the same time, WBD is opening a 10-day negotiation window with Paramount to address the latest offer.

February 24: WBD has confirmed that it has received a new offer from Paramount Skydance. Later that day, WBD issued a statement acknowledging that it “could reasonably be expected to result in a ‘Company Superior Offer'” as stated in the Netflix sales agreement.

February 26: Netflix has officially given up on the WBD chase, refusing to match the higher Paramount bid. “The deal is no longer financially attractive,” Netflix told investors. California Attorney General Rob Bonta vowed to launch a “robust review” of the transaction, providing the first sign of antitrust litigation.

February 27: Paramount, Warner Bros. It officially signed a $110 billion all-cash deal to acquire all of Discovery. The final terms change the toll, effective October 1.

April 13: A group of 1,000 industry creatives, including Ben Stiller, Kristen Stewart, Joaquin Phoenix, Adam McKay, Alan Cumming, Alyssa Milano, Boots Riley, Bryan Cranston, Cynthia Nixon, Damon Lindelof, David Fincher and Denis Villeneuve, signed an open letter calling on officials to “Block the Merger.” Ten days later, 4,000 signatures were reached.

April 16: AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aron announces Paramount-Warner Bros. on the verge of the CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas. approved the merger.

23 April: WBD shareholders voted to approve the sale to Paramount.

April 27: Paramount said in a regulatory filing that approximately 38.5% of the new company’s equity will be held in sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

June 12: The Justice Department is closing its investigation into the merger without imposing any conditions or divestiture requirements.

July 13: Twelve state attorneys general, including Rob Bonta of California and Leticia James of New York, filed suit to block the Paramount-WBD transaction on antitrust grounds.

July 14: The Writers Guild of America filed a lawsuit to block the merger on antitrust grounds.

July 20: A federal judge delayed the merger for 14 days as states requested temporary relief.

July 22: The European Commission approved the transaction.

July 27: SAG-AFTRA issued a statement opposing the merger, calling for it to be blocked unless “feasible safeguards” were implemented.

July 29: Regal Cinemas CEO Eduardo Acuna announces support for merger

July 31: Paramount is seeking a November start date for the states’ antitrust case. States and the WGA are seeking a start date of April 2027.

4 August: The judge set March 2, 2027 as the start date for the states’ antitrust lawsuit.

5 August: David Ellison told top Paramount executives he would move the company out of California starting Oct. 1 if state AGs do not drop antitrust lawsuits aimed at blocking the merger.

6 August: Paramount has approval from the UK Competition and Markets Authority.

12 August: The Directors Guild of America and IATSE sent a letter to California attorneys general Rob Bonta and David Ellison, urging them to reach a settlement for the sake of both studios or jointly push for a faster timeline for the trial. The letter outlines 10 conditions that could help alleviate antitrust concerns.

14 August: Mexico approved the transaction.

17 August: Paramount asked the court to claim that if Paramount prevails in the case, Warner Bros. Discovery is demanding that states be ordered to post a $1.88 billion bond to cover the cost of remuneration it will owe to its shareholders.

18 August: Cinemark exhibition chain announced its support for the merger.

20 August: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is urging Rob Bonta to sign with Paramount.

21 August: David Ellison held a private meeting with state AGs to agree on a date for settlement talks.

23 August: Rob Bonta canceled the meeting scheduled for August 24 for reconciliation talks after news of the meeting leaked to media outlets.

September 11: In its motion, Paramount argues that the states’ position is “a series of shortcuts and attempted conjectures that collapse under scrutiny.”

12 September: The Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation reported that the loss of Paramount from California would cost the state $1 billion to $2 billion in economic output over four years.

September 15: The Justice Department is siding with Paramount in the fight over the $1.88 billion bond.

17 September: The FCC approved up to 49.5% foreign ownership in the Paramount Skydance deal tied to CBS O&O stations.

19 September: Actor Mark Ruffalo warns Rob Bonta via social media to “Don’t You Dare Solve” the states’ lawsuit.

September 21: Paramount announced the agreement with 12 state attorneys general, which includes numerous conditions but no structural solutions.

24 September: David Ellison attended President Donald Trump’s state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping; Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín questions the parties to the agreement

25 September: Paramount Skydance announced that it will move its Class B common stock from the Nasdaq index to the New York Stock Exchange on October 5-6.

30 September: Paramount set Oct. 6 as the closing date for the transaction after a federal judge approved the states’ antitrust settlement agreement. David Ellison surprises Hollywood by hiring Mattel leader Ynon Kreiz to become co-CEO of the expanded company.

October 2: David Ellison announced the company’s new name: Skydance Corp., an homage to the name of the film production company he founded in 2006.

5 October: Ellison announced Skydance’s new leadership team, which he will lead with Kreiz. The film business will be headed by Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, formerly co-presidents of Paramount Pictures, and James Gunn and Peter Safran will remain co-presidents of DC Studios. George Cheeks, formerly president of TV media for Paramount Skydance, is co-chairman and chief content officer of Skydance TV. Casey Bloys, who heads HBO and HBO Max, will become co-president and chief content officer of Skydance DTC broadcast. Warner Bros. Discovery executive JB Perrette is co-chairman and chief operating officer of Skydance TV and Skydance DTC. Mark Thompson will continue to lead CNN as CEO.

6 October: The merger has officially ended, leaving Skydance Corp. WBD shares ceased trading on Nasdaq, and shares of the new company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SKYD.”