Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros. Discovery close $111 billion merger; new stock trades as SKYD

Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery completed their $111 billion merger on Tuesday, creating a media giant controlled by David Ellison's family. Shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD, opening around $9.70, about half of Paramount's 52-week high. The new company holds HBO, CNN, CBS, Comedy Central, TBS, Food Network, two studios and two streaming services, and expects $70 billion in annual revenue — still below Walt Disney's $94.4 billion last year. It carries more than $80 billion in debt from buying Warner Bros. Discovery investors out at $31.17 a share, and plans $6 billion in cost cuts over three years. Ellison named his executive team Monday, including CNN's Mark Thompson and HBO's Casey Bloys. As part of a Sept. 21 settlement with 12 state attorneys general, Skydance must form a five-member editorial panel within six months.