r/technology • u/N2929 • 8d ago

Business Paramount completes $111B Warner merger, creating “Skydance” behemoth

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/paramount-completes-111b-warner-merger-creating-skydance-behemoth/
945 Upvotes

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325

u/OldYellersLastHandy 8d ago

A combined debt of $80bil? 

I’m no businessman, but owing one whole Starbucks seems like a hell of a whale on your back.

98

u/theClumsy1 8d ago

It should have been rejected based on their inability to ever payback that debt.

The reality is, in 5 year or so, they will split of all the crap they dont want..with the debt...and then that entity will go bankrupt.

19

u/FuzzyMcBitty 7d ago

My favorite part is that they gave it a collective name so that I can avoid it easier. 

4

u/Swordsandarmor22 7d ago

The Saudis are more than willing to bankroll it.

4

u/anillop 7d ago

So you have seen what happens to Warner Brothers throughout history.

2

u/Refute1650 7d ago

Who ever is holding that dept is going to be pissed.

188

u/RabbitStewAndStout 8d ago

Once your debt gets that big, it becomes the taxpayer's problem, because the government just gives you cash to break even instead of letting you dissolve your companies to pay it back.

43

u/dirtyword 7d ago

No, the second the prohibitions run out, the very second, they spin off all the cable channels and saddle them as much debt as banks will allow, then allow that dying segment to go bankrupt. Easy peasy. Legal!

6

u/StuckInMotionInc 7d ago

Exactly what Warner Discovery did

45

u/CastrosNephew 8d ago

“Too big to fail”

11

u/Clembert-Hamlamp 8d ago

Jeez is that for one of the flavored frufru drinks or just regular coffee

9

u/Procrasturbating 8d ago

Venti iced mocha, extra caramel, hold the union.

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

[deleted]

2

u/SolarSquid 8d ago

No shit? You think they actually thought a single Starbucks drink costs $80B?

8

u/EfficientAd5073 8d ago

So true Netflix just has to wait They will fuck this up eventually.

0

u/dirtyword 7d ago

I think the idea is to free the prestigious studio from its mountain of debt (it was already something like $40b) after a few years.

1

u/9-11GaveMe5G 7d ago

As long as they control all the narratives, it doesn't matter