Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery will complete on October 6th after a US Federal Judge formally approved its deal with 12 Democrat Attorneys General who had sued to block the transaction.
The ruling completes Paramount and owner David Ellison’s year-long pursuit of WBD which at various times looked to be in trouble, not least when studio’s board accepted an offer from Netflix for its biggest brands including DC and Game of Thrones.
However persistence paid off with Ellison ultimately securing the backing of the WBD board and the approval of almost 70 competition and media regulators around the world.
The merger will create a company whose studios and brands will include Warner Bros., HBO, HBO Max, DC Studios, CNN, TNT Sports, Eurosport, Lord of the Rings, Dune, The Big Bang Theory, Game of Thrones, TT Games, Paramount Pictures, CBS, Paramount+, MTV, Comedy Central, Mission Impossible, Star Trek, Transformers, the G.I. Joe film series, and the upcoming Call of Duty films.
Ellison will serve as co-CEO of the combined group alongside former Mattel Chairman and CEO Ynon Kreiz whose appointment was confirmed yesterday.