Skydance Credit Rating Cut By Fitch Citing Heavy Debt Load, Integration, Execution Risk

Fitch downgraded the credit rating of the new Skydance, citing significant execution and integration risks alongside higher leverage from the merged Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. This follows a similar move by S P Global in September. Led by CEO David Ellison, Skydance began operations Tuesday with approximately $80 billion in debt, an unprecedented level for a large media M A transaction. Ratings agencies and investors remain concerned about the company's ability to repay this massive debt load.