One of the world’s leading media company Comcast is buying DreamWorks Animation, the film company behind the blockbuster movies “Shrek,” “Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda,” franchises. According to some international reports the deal between Comcast and DreamWorks cost around $.3.55 billion and Comcast’s acquisition of DreamWorks will strengthen the presence in the important and growing business of children’s entertainment.
The animation studio, Dreamworks is considered as one of Hollywood’s most popular animation film producer and due to the deal DreamWorks stockholders will receive $41 for each share they own, tha’s a 24 percent premium to the company’s Wednesday closing price of $32.20.
According to some insiders from both companies, they put the deal’s value at about $3.8 billion. After the deal between Comcast and DreamWorks, the animation company will become part of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, which includes Universal Pictures.
Universal Pictures had its own animation studio, the Illumination label which was responsible for the creations of blockbusters hits “Minions.” Illumination studio is now busy with their latest project “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” which is expected to be released during the holiday season.
Comcast revealed that the deal gives NBCUniversal, a unit of Comcast Corp., a “broader reach to a host of new audiences in the highly competitive kids and family entertainment space, in both TV and film.” In addition to the cartoon franchises, DreamWorks also owns what Comcast called a “thriving TV operation” with its AwesomenessTV network of online video creators and a lengthy contract to create shows for Netflix.
The deal solves what Cowen and Co. analyst Doug Creutz “would have been a very difficult succession plan had DWA remained independent, as to a certain extent we think the company had been held together purely through (CEO Jeffrey) Katzenberg’s force of will.”
