Skydance starts NYSE trading after Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal closes
Skydance Corp. has arrived on Wall Street.
The company was formed by the closing of the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger. It began regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, one of the main US share markets, on Tuesday, Oct. 6, under the ticker SKYD, meaning its short trading code, Variety.
The ticker is SKYD. Trading started at market open on Tuesday. Shares closed at $9.51 on that first day, down 2.7%.
It was a choppy debut. Shares fell by as much as 6% during the session. The intraday high, meaning the highest price reached that day, was $9.84.
The listing finalised a quick market switch. Paramount Skydance withdrew its Class B common stock from the Nasdaq Global Select Market, another US share market, under the ticker PSKY. Listing and trading there ended at market close on Monday, Oct. 5.
Warner Bros. Discovery shares have also stopped trading on the Nasdaq. Its shareholders received $31.01666668 in cash per share on closing.
Holders of the old PSKY shares are in line for something extra. Skydance’s board set Oct. 13 as the date to distribute 471.3 million warrants, meaning rights to buy shares later at a fixed price.
The terms are simple. Investors will get one warrant for each PSKY Class B share held as of Oct. 5, to be sent out on or about Oct. 13. Each warrant gives the holder the right to buy one SKYD Class B share for $12.00, with up to 10 years to exercise it.
That $12 figure matches the price paid by equity investors backing the Warner Bros. Discovery deal. Their investments in SKYD were priced at $12 per share.
Voting control is centralised. The Ellison family and RedBird are the sole holders of Skydance’s Class A stock. That gives them 100% of the voting shares, meaning the shares that decide control of the company.
Chairman and CEO David Ellison said the vision was to “create a stronger competitor” and build a company that “empowers creatives, entertains audiences and rewards shareholders.” Skydance confirmed the completed deal on Oct. 6 in a press release titled “Paramount Completes Acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Creating a New Global Entertainment Leader,” Skydance.
There was a cautionary note just before the bell rang. Fitch Ratings, a credit ratings agency that grades how safely a company can borrow, downgraded the new Skydance’s credit rating on Monday.
What makes this stand out is the organisation behind the price moves. One listed company now owns both sides of the deal, and one share price will track how investors judge it.
