Paramount's hard-fought takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery closes Tuesday. Here's how we got here

It's been just over a year since Paramount Skydance set out to buy one of Hollywood's most iconic institutions.

After repeated rejections, a subsequent bidding war, a series of regulatory approvals, an antitrust challenge by state attorneys general and a timely settlement, the David Ellison-run company is set to close its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday.

The combined company, what amounts to one of the largest media conglomerates in history, will be newly named Skydance and trade under the ticker symbol "SKYD." It will bring together two of the most storied film studios and control nearly one-third of basic cable programming.

June 9, 2025: Warner Bros. Discovery announces its plan to split into two public companies: a streaming and studios company and a global networks company. The plan to separate WBD's movie properties and streaming platform from its cable channels comes as media companies grapple with how to maintain profitability in the face of declining linear viewership and a broad shift to streaming.

Aug. 7, 2025: Paramount closes its long-awaited merger with Skydance, the company founded by Ellison, a tech executive and the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Within days, newly installed CEO David Ellison buys the multiyear rights for TKO Group's UFC in a $7.7 billion deal. Within a month, Ellison acquires the rights to produce a film based on the Call of Duty video game franchise and signs a multiyear deal with "Stranger Things" creators the Duffer Brothers. The series of investments fits into Ellison's plan to "define the next era of entertainment," a strategy he outlines in a letter to shareholders.

Sept. 11, 2025: CNBC reports that Paramount is preparing a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. Shares of both companies jump on the day of the news, and WBD shares notch their best day ever to that point.

Late September and early October 2025: Warner Bros. Discovery rejects three takeover bids from Paramount Skydance. Paramount's third bid is for slightly less than $24 per share and 80% cash, CNBC reports at the time. In a letter to WBD's board dated Oct. 13, Paramount lays out how its offer delivers "superior value" for shareholders over plans to split the company into two separate entities.

Oct. 21, 2025: Warner Bros. Discovery says it is open to a sale after receiving "unsolicited interest" from multiple parties. CNBC reports that Netflix and Comcast are among the interested suitors. WBD says it will continue to plan for the split while conducting a "strategic review."

Mid-November 2025: Comcast, Netflix and Paramount submit formal takeover bids for Warner Bros. Discovery. Offers from Comcast and Netflix are for the company's film and streaming assets, namely Warner Bros. studio and HBO Max. Paramount Skydance's bid is for the entirety of WBD, including its linear TV networks.

Dec. 5, 2025: Netflix announces it has reached a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery's film and streaming assets in a deal worth nearly $83 billion on an enterprise basis. WBD says it will spin off its TV networks, including TNT and CNN, into Discovery Global, in line with its plan from June. Before the deal is officially announced, attorneys from Paramount Skydance pen a letter to WBD CEO David Zaslav questioning the "fairness and adequacy" of the sale process and accusing WBD of favoring Netflix.

Dec. 8, 2025: Paramount Skydance launches a hostile bid for the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery, seeking to upend the Netflix agreement. Paramount announces that it will go straight to WBD shareholders with an all-cash, $30-per-share offer. "We're really here to finish what we started," Ellison tells CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" in announcing Paramount's plan. "We put the company in play."

Jan. 7, 2026: Warner Bros. Discovery rejects Paramount's offer again, doubling down on its deal with Netflix. Despite a guarantee in late December that billionaire Larry Ellison will backstop the financing of the Paramount-WBD deal, the Warner Bros. Discovery board unanimously recommends that shareholders reject the takeover bid from Paramount.