Los Angeles, California - Paramount Skydance announced Friday it will acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal valuing the combined company at $110 billion, after beating Netflix in a bruising bidding war.

Netflix withdrew from the race this week after Warner deemed Paramount's new proposal superior.

The agreement ends a five-month saga and creates an entertainment behemoth whose impact on a struggling media landscape – and connections to Donald Trump's White House – will be closely scrutinized.

The merged entity will include CNN, CBS, HBO, and Nickelodeon, as well as some of Hollywood's most valuable franchises, including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, the DC Universe, Mission Impossible, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

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Under the terms of the agreement, Paramount will pay $31.00 per share in cash for all outstanding Warner Bros. shares, implying an equity value of $81 billion – and $110 billion when including the mountain of debt Paramount will take on.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by both companies' boards and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, the companies said.

Questions now pivot to the Ellison family, which will control a constellation of media properties spanning the globe.

If regulators approve the deal, David Ellison is widely expected to embark on a painful round of cost-cutting to pare down the load.

His father, far-right Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, largely financed the takeover, offering a financial guarantee that finally persuaded the Warner Bros. board.

Larry Ellison is also a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly put his thumbs on the scale in favor of Paramount during the battle.

The deal still faces regulatory hurdles. The European Commission is reviewing the merger, as are several US states, including California.

"Paramount/Warner Bros is not a done deal," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Friday.

The Paramount offer includes financing from three Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds – those of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi – which could also attract extra scrutiny on national security concerns.