By Anzar Mehraj
Oct 2 (Reuters) – Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison on Friday said upon closing the company’s merger with Warner Bros Discovery, the combined entity will be called Skydance.
The move was aimed at maintaining separate identities of the Paramount and Warner Bros studios, rather than have a new corporate identity overshadow them, Ellison added.
The combined company will be an entertainment behemoth spanning film, TV and news, uniting the studios behind the “Mission: Impossible” and “Harry Potter” films with major television and streaming networks such as CBS, CNN, Paramount+ and HBO Max.
“We never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter or overshadow either one,” Ellison wrote in a social media post. “Instead, we wanted a name that would give the combined company an identity of its own while allowing Paramount and Warner Bros — and all our extraordinary brands — to remain in the spotlight.”
The company plans to change its legal name to Skydance Corporation on October 6, according to a regulatory filing. On the same day, its Class B shares are expected to move from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange, where they will trade under the ticker “SKYD” instead of “PSKY.”
“The name is ego-driven. It reminds everyone that the most iconic Hollywood brands answer to Ellison and it is his company who won out,” said Ross Benes, senior analyst at Emarketer.
A US judge on Wednesday entered an order allowing Paramount Skydance to close its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, ending a months-long holdup.
The order approved a September 21 settlement with a California-led group of 12 states that had sued to block the merger, arguing it would create a media giant capable of driving up film and TV prices.
Ellison earlier this week named Ynon Kreiz as his co-CEO, tasking the Mattel CEO with running day-to-day operations and leading the integration, freeing him up to helm creative direction and overall strategy.
The duo faces a target of saving $6 billion in costs while managing roughly $80 billion in combined debt.
(Reporting by Anzar Mehraj, Deborah Sophia and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
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