Thursday, August 7, 2025

Star Trek Owners Paramount Closes Merger

It is now official, Star Trek has new owners with merge to Skydance Media closing Thursday. The official name of the company is "Paramount, A Skydance Corporation" which will trade under the Nasdaq ticket PSKY with CEO David Ellison in charge, placed there by his father who founded Oracle.

An important part of the merger is Redbird Capital which is a private equity firm. Equity firms are famous for one thing - driving companies into the ground as squeeze them for as much money as possible and selling them for parts. The end of Toys R Us is a typical example of how these companies work.

As a result, there will be significant pressure on Ellison by Redbird to recoup the $8.4 billion as fast as possible if he wants to keep the merged company. Layoffs are coming across the board and chances are significant portions of the company could be sold for parts. The cable networks are the likely starting point. Keep in mind the intellectual property would stay with Paramount so for instance they can sell Nickelodeon while retaining ownership of Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise. 

Exactly what is coming currently remains unknown. There was a press conference with the C-Suite in New York but no specific details were covered that provides insight on their current plans besides continued support of Paramount+ and renewed focus on sports. This includes Star Trek. It will likely keep on keeping on with current planned seasons of Starfleet Academy and Strange New Worlds. Beyond that, will take a bit to work out as the new executives decide how to direct their various divisions with the budgets provided.

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