Paramount just got a major makeover! In a deal announced this weekend, the media giant is merging with Skydance Media to create a new powerhouse company worth a whopping $28 billion. Dubbed “New Paramount” for now, this merger shakes things up in the entertainment world.

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Here’s the breakdown: First, Shari Redstone, the boss at Paramount and daughter of media legend Sumner Redstone, is selling the family’s controlling stake in Paramount (held by National Amusements) to Skydance for a sweet $2.4 billion.

Then comes the big one: the actual merger. Skydance is throwing a massive $8 billion at Paramount. This cash will be used to buy out current Paramount shareholders and chip away at the company’s debt, which is sitting pretty high at $14.6 billion. Streaming services haven’t exactly been kind to Paramount’s bottom line, and their traditional TV business isn’t booming either.

Shari Redstone, channeling her dad’s famous quote about content being king, explained the move: “Things are changing fast in Hollywood. This merger will make Paramount stronger and keep our awesome content flowing. Skydance has been working with Paramount for ages, so they know our strengths and weaknesses. They’ve got the smarts and the money to take us to the next level.”

David Ellison, son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison and founder of Skydance, will be the new head honcho of New Paramount. He’ll be taking over the CEO and Chairman roles. Former NBCUniversal boss Jeff Shell will be the new president. This means Bob Bakish, the previous Paramount CEO, is out. Apparently, he and Redstone didn’t see eye-to-eye on the Skydance deal, so he bounced in April.

This merger is the result of months of back-and-forth talks. Negotiations almost fell through in June because the companies couldn’t agree on terms. But this new deal sweetens the pot for the Redstones with an extra $1.75 billion and throws in some legal muscle to protect them from shareholder lawsuits.

Redstone technically has 45 days to shop around for a better offer, but industry folks at Deadline think it’s a done deal. Her message to employees thanking them for their hard work hinted at a closed case: “This agreement still needs some final approvals, but we expect the merger to be finalized by mid-2025.“