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THR: Japan's SoftBank in Talks to Buy DreamWorks Animation
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
The Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank is in talks to purchase DreamWorks Animation for about US$3.4 billion, an anonymous source with knowledge of the situation told The Hollywood Reporter. The source states that DreamWorks held an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the offer. SoftBank is allegedly offering US$32 a share. DreamWorks Animation founder and CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg would allegedly sign a contract to stay with the company for five years.
A spokesperson for DWA declined to comment, saying, "We don't comment on rumors and speculation."
SoftBank and its game subsidiary Gungho Online Entertaiment (Ragnarok Online, Grandia Online, Hokuto no Ken Online, Lily Bergamo) acquired a 51% stake in the Helsinki-based mobile gaming company Supercell (Clash of Clans) for US$1.53 billion last year. It recently invested US$20 million in Chinese Internet company Alibaba.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
