Hollywood’s entertainment giant Paramount Global will merge with independent Film Studio, Skydance. This will mark the end of the Redstone family’s era in Hollywood.

It also highlights the rise of a new power player, David Ellison, the founder of Skydance. He is the son of billionaire Larry Ellison, the founder of the software company, Oracle.

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Ellison founded Skydance in 2010. His company has helped produce major Paramount hits in recent years, including Tom Cruise films like “Top Gun: Maverick” and installments of the “Mission Impossible” series.

According to the merger deal, Paramount’s non-executive chair ,Shari Redstone , will sell her family’s controlling stake in the company in a complex transaction that will result in a new firm worth around $28bn.

Shari Redstone’s National Amusements has owned more than three-quarters of Paramount’s “Class A voting shares” through the estate of her late father, Sumner Redstone.Thus, she accounts for almost 80% of Paramount’s voting rights even though she owns only 10% of Paramount’s Group share.

Under the agreement, Skydance will invest around $8bn in Paramount, including $2.4bn for National Amusements, which controls the group. The deal will be closed by September next year.

Paramount Global traces its origins to the founding of Paramount Pictures Corporation in 1914. In its decades-long history, the studio has produced many hit films, including “The Godfather”, “Star Trek”, and “The Mission: Impossible” series. Its media empire also includes Paramount Pictures, the CBS broadcast network, and cable television networks Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and MTV.

However, its financial struggle increased a decade back and in last five years, its share have fallen by more than 75%.

Earlier, Redstone has held similar talks with several potential partners, including Sony and private equity firm Apollo.

In April, Paramount’s chief executive Bob Bakish also left the company after some conflict with Ms Redstone over the planned Skydance deal.

If the deal is approved, Skydance’s Ellison will become chairman and chief executive officer of what’s being called New Paramount.