The long scale to the top of today’s Paramount-Skydance merger closing

Paramount Global and Skydance Media officially became a single company, Paramount Skydance Corp., on Aug. 7, 2025, the result of over a year of back-and-forth. 

Analysis: Digging into Paramount Skydance deal’s implications for broadcasting

January-May 2024: Initial proposal and exclusive negotiations

In early 2024, Skydance Media, led by CEO David Ellison, entered exclusive negotiations to acquire National Amusements Inc., the holding company that controls Paramount Global through its majority voting stake.

The proposed transaction would grant Skydance operational control of Paramount, with Ellison positioning the deal as a strategic path forward for the media conglomerate amid industry headwinds.

Throughout the spring, Skydance refined its bid, which ultimately included $2.25 billion for NAI, $4.5 billion in cash for Class B shareholders, and $1.5 billion in assumed debt. Paramount’s special committee of independent directors gave preliminary approval to the deal in late May 2024.

June 2024: Agreement in place, then abrupt collapse

On June 3, 2024, Paramount and Skydance finalized terms of a merger that would combine the companies in a two-step transaction: Skydance would first acquire NAI, then merge with Paramount in a stock-and-cash deal. However, on June 11, 2024, NAI chair Shari Redstone unexpectedly withdrew support for the agreement.

Redstone expressed concerns regarding valuation and structure, which led to a sudden collapse of the months-long negotiation process.

July 2024: Talks resume and another preliminary deal reached

After a brief cooling-off period, talks between the parties resumed in late June 2024. On July 2, 2024, Paramount, Skydance and NAI reached a preliminary three-way agreement, reviving the possibility of a merger.

The updated terms reportedly included stronger protections for Paramount’s minority shareholders and increased cash consideration. Five days later, on July 7, Paramount’s board formally approved the revised deal. A 45-day “go-shop” provision was included, allowing Paramount to solicit alternative proposals from third parties. No superior bid materialized during that window.

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February-May 2025: Regulatory review and delayed closing

In early 2025, the proposed merger entered the regulatory review phase.

In February, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the European Commission approved the transaction.

However, ongoing scrutiny from U.S. federal agencies — including the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission — delayed final clearance. Paramount subsequently triggered a 90-day extension to the merger agreement in April 2025, pushing the closing deadline to July 7, 2025. Despite leadership’s public optimism in May about a first-half closing, the deal remained in limbo.

March 2024: Other suitors

Several outside parties attempted to derail the Skydance-Paramount merger with competing offers, starting in March 2024. Apollo Global Management made an all-cash bid valued at roughly $26 billion, which appealed to some shareholders but lacked support from Redstone.

Apollo later partnered with Sony Pictures on a joint proposal to split the company’s assets, but regulatory concerns and operational complications stalled the effort. Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group also submitted a $30 billion offer, but it was widely viewed as unrealistic due to financing concerns.

No alternative bid gained traction during the formal “go-shop” period.

April 2024: C-suite shakeups

The merger process was marked by significant leadership turmoil, most notably the ouster of longtime Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish.

Amid mounting pressure from the board and growing dissatisfaction among key shareholders, Bakish was removed from his role in late April 2024. Sources said Bakish’s handling of the merger talks was a key reason for his exit.

In a surprise move, the company announced the installation of a three-person “Office of the CEO” to serve in Bakish’s place on an interim basis. 

The unusual co-CEO arrangement was intended to stabilize operations and preserve divisional autonomy while merger negotiations continued. Internally, each executive retained oversight of their existing portfolios, but collectively they shared responsibility for corporate strategy, investor communications and operational oversight of the merger process.

While the arrangement was initially viewed as temporary, it remained in place until the deal’s final approval in August 2025. 

July 2025: Final regulatory hurdle cleared

On July 24, 2025, the FCC granted final approval for the merger in a 2–1 vote.

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The agency imposed several conditions, including the appointment of an internal ombudsman to monitor content neutrality, commitments to scale back certain diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives and guarantees of fair access to news platforms.

This clearance was met with criticism for the concessions the Skydance was seemingly willing to offer Donald Trump and his administration and came shortly after Paramount Global’s CBS News agreed to pay $16 million to settle a largely frivolous lawsuit Trump brought against the network in late 2024. 

August 2025: Merger officially closes

The merger between Skydance Media and Paramount Global officially closed on Aug. 7, 2025, forming the newly named Paramount Skydance Corporation. David Ellison was appointed chairman and chief executive officer of the combined company, while former NBCUniversal executive Jeff Shell assumed the role of president.

The company was reorganized into three core divisions — studios, direct-to-consumer and TV media — and began trading under a new ticker symbol, PSKY.