|
Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Oct 5, 2014 21:43:27 GMT -6
variety.com/2014/biz/news/report-softbank-may-not-buy-dreamworks-animation-after-all-1201316722/SoftBank may be slowly walking away from a potential deal to buy DreamWorks Animation. The Japanese telecommunications and investment conglom is said to be reconsidering an outright purchase of Jeffrey Katzenberg’s toon studio and may now be more interested in brokering a content partnership instead, according to a report first published by the Wall Street Journal, citing individuals familiar with the talks. Negotiations around a sale could still start up again, sources said. The acquisition by SoftBank would have valued DreamWorks Animation at around $3.2 billion. One main attraction was DWA’s distribution deal with Netflix, and its ownership of AwesomenessTV, an entertainment network that’s popular with a younger audience — a prime demo for SoftBank’s Sprint, which it owns. It’s been a decade since DreamWorks Animation became a publicly traded company, and details of a sale boosted DWA’s stock by 26% on Monday, to $28.18, a gain of $5.82. Shares lost $2.38 after news emerged that a sale may not happen, during after-hours trading. DreamWorks Animation has not publicly discussed the deal. While a DWA source told Variety that the company last week held a board meeting to discuss the Japanese offer, SoftBank also has kept quiet, saying it was company policy not to discuss rumors.
|
|