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David Ellison is celebrating in style after completing Paramount's Warner Bros. Discovery merger, forming media giant Skydance.
Ellison and his leadership team rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday morning in New York's Financial District, days after addressing staff on Skydance's first day.
I've closely followed the Paramount-WBD saga for nearly a year including:
- Paramount's hostile offer
- Its bidding war against Netflix
- The lawsuits that delayed the deal
- The settlements that paved the way for Ellison to close the $110 billion deal
So when I saw Ellison and company ring the bell on Wall Street, it felt like a symbolic way to close this chapter of Skydance's story — even though the real action is just beginning.
While Skydance executives were in celebration mode on Thursday, they face a litany of challenges, including a roughly $80 billion debt load and potent competition in streaming from the likes of Netflix, Disney, and YouTube. Although HBO Max and Paramount+ may be stronger together, Ellison and Skydance's leaders need to figure out how to integrate their streamers.
Skydance shares rose more than 5% on Thursday but are down 30% this year and have lost nearly half their value in the last 12 months. Those losses didn't stop Ellison from projecting confidence.
"We are positioned to win in every single vertical that we operate in," Ellison told CNBC at the NYSE before ringing the opening bell. "By combining Paramount and Warner Bros., we have the greatest content engine with marquee intellectual property."
Here are 18 photos I took at Skydance's opening bell ceremony.
A giant Skydance banner was draped over the front of the New York Stock Exchange for the ceremony, along with some of the new company's biggest brands
Inside, Skydance's new logo was everywhere, next to those of Warner Bros. and Paramount
Skydance displayed props from some of its biggest hits, including this helmet from the best-picture nominee 'Top Gun: Maverick'
Also on display were props from Harry Potter, including this Gryffindor uniform and a Golden Snitch
Shoes from Paramount's best picture-winning 'Forrest Gump' were also in the lobby
The NYSE trading floor was bustling with people connected to Paramount, Skydance, and RedBird Capital (a major Skydance investor)
New Skydance co-CEO Ynon Kreiz (left center) and CEO David Ellison (right center) took the trading floor
I had a front-row view as Skydance's leadership team gathered ahead of the opening bell
Ellison was front and center, flanked by the team he assembled to lead the new media giant
Ellison and his fellow executives posed for the crowd
Skydance's executives were jubilant as Ellison rang the opening bell
Ellison and his team clapped and shook each other's hands, congratulating themselves after months of waiting to buy WBD
Ellison and his team then left the perch from which they rang the opening bell
A backdrop emblazoned with Skydance's logos next to those of Paramount and Warner Bros. marked the new company's appearance
Ellison and Kreiz then met with officials on the NYSE trading floor
Ellison and his colleagues posed for photos to commemorate the launch of their new company
Kreiz (left) took in the scene, less than a week after leaving his role as Mattel's CEO to join Skydance
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James Faris is a media correspondent in New York City.He covers the business of media & entertainment, specifically the streaming, TV, and AI strategies of Hollywood giants like Disney, Skydance (Paramount-WBD), and Netflix. He previously wrote about the stock market, the economy, and real estate.James joined Business Insider after graduating magna cum laude from James Madison University.Email James at [email protected] and follow him on LinkedIn.
