DreamWorks takeover talks stall

A rumoured takeover of US studio DreamWorks Animation (DWA) by Japanese telecoms company SoftBank has hit the rocks, according to a US report.

Shares in the US studio shot up yesterday following a claim over the weekend that DWA was in talks with Japanese telco SoftBank.

Softbank was said to have offered DWA US$32 a share, valuing the company at US$3.4bn, which resulted in the Shrek and Madagascar producer’s stock rising about 26% to US$28.18 by 16.00 (ET) yesterday.

However, the discussion between the two companies has “cooled,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

It remains possible the negotiations will restart, the WSJ report adds, with a content partnership thought to be one potential outcome, rather than an outright takeover.

DWA is best known for its animated feature films, which have had mixed box office results in 2014. It has also produced numerous successful TV spin-offs to franchises such as Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon.

It also has a lucrative content deal with Netflix, which will see the producer create 12 animated series for the SVoD platform, totalling 300 hours of content, before 2017.

The company also acquired YouTube youth network AwesomenessTV last year and owns the rights to brands such as Where’s Waldo?, Noddy and Lassie after it bought Classic Media in 2012.

DWA founder and CEO Jeffery Katzenberg has spent the past few years attempting to find a suitor for the company, while it also has plans to launch its own kids’ television channel.

However, at Mipcom last year Katzenberg said that its deal with Netflix made the launch unlikely anytime soon.