Comcast is slowly becoming the next Disney. Comcast has amassed a great number of media companies. It now owns DreamWorks Animation which it paid $3.8 billion for. Disney paid $4 Billion Star Wars franchise company Lucas. With the buy NBCUniversal picked up animation properties Shrek, Kung-Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon in the process. NBCUniversal already owns animation properties Despicable Me and Minions. The acquisition will reunite DreamWork’s Animation with Amblin Partners. It was renamed that last year. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year. DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg will become a consultant for NBCUniversal and serve as chairman of DreamWorks New Media. DreamWorks New Media will also be comprised of Awesomeness TV and NOVA.
The agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of DreamWorks Animation and Comcast, and the controlling shareholder of DreamWorks Animation has approved the agreement by written consent. Under the terms of the agreement, DreamWorks Animation has an equity value of approximately $3.8 billion. DreamWorks Animation stockholders will receive $41 in cash for each share of DreamWorks Animation common stock.
“Jeffrey Katzenberg and the DreamWorks organization have created a dynamic film brand and a deep library of intellectual property. DreamWorks will help us grow our film, television, theme parks and consumer products businesses for years to come. We have enjoyed extraordinary success over the last six years in animation with the emergence of Illumination Entertainment and its brilliant team at Illumination Mac Guff studio. The prospects for our future together are tremendous. We are fortunate to have Illumination founder Chris Meledandri to help guide the growth of the DreamWorks Animation business in the future.” ~Steve Burke, CEO of NBCUniversal