Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery said Friday they have reached a definitive agreement under which Paramount will acquire WBD, in a deal valuing WBD at $81 billion in equity and $110 billion in enterprise value.

Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP and Latham & Watkins LLP are advising Paramount. Latham is also guiding an investor consortium behind the purchase, which includes the Ellison family. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is legal counsel to a special committee of Paramount's board.

Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP are advising WBD.

The deal comes after Paramount prevailed in a high-stakes bidding contest with Netflix Inc., after WBD's board determined that a revised Paramount offer was a "superior proposal" to its December agreement with Netflix.

Under the new deal, Paramount will acquire 100% of WBD for $31 per share in cash, plus a "ticking fee," the companies said in an announcement.

The agreement marks one of the largest consolidation deals in the entertainment sector in recent years, combining two major Hollywood players with extensive content libraries, streaming operations and production assets.

In the announcement, David Ellison, chair and CEO of Paramount, said, "From the very beginning, our pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery has been guided by a clear purpose: to honor the legacy of two iconic companies while accelerating our vision of building a next-generation media and entertainment company. By bringing together these world-class studios, our complementary streaming platforms and the extraordinary talent behind them, we will create even greater value for audiences, partners and shareholders — and we couldn't be more excited for what's ahead."

Also in the announcement, David Zaslav, WBD's president and CEO, said, "I'm very pleased with the outcome we achieved for WBD shareholders and the entertainment industry. Our guiding principle throughout this process has been to secure a transaction that maximizes the value of our iconic assets and our century-old studio, while delivering as much certainty as possible for our investors. We look forward to working with Paramount to complete this historic transaction."

Netflix ditched its effort to buy WBD on Thursday after WBD said Paramount's revised bid, made public on Tuesday, was a "superior proposal."

After declining to revise their offer further, Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters had said in a statement that it was "no longer financially attractive" to proceed at the price needed to match Paramount's offer.

The Paramount-WBD transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory clearances and approval by WBD shareholders, the companies said.

The Wachtell Lipton team is led by Andrew J. Nussbaum, Karessa L. Cain and Hannah Clark.

The Latham team is led by Ian Nussbaum, Max Schleusener, Rick Offsay and Liliana Ranger.

The Debevoise team is led by Jonathan Levitsky, Erik Andrén, Gordon Moodie and Katherine Durnan Taylor.

Additional deal team information was not immediately available Friday.