Hasbro, the multinational toy company that is credited with producing Monopoly, Scrabble and several other well-known board games, is allegedly in business talks with DreamWorks Animation-the company is said to want to purchase the animation studio.
DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg is eyeing a payout of more than $30
per share, the New York Times reports, citing the two company's current terms of proposed deals.
Earlier this year, DreamWorks Animation officials were in talks with Japan-based SoftBank for transfer of ownership, but it appears their negotiations never fell through.
Although the animation company has not made a public announcement surrounding management changes, it has been suggested that Katzenberg will remain with the group. Neither of the two companies has publicly confirmed negotiations nor have they mentioned their collaboration plans moving forward.
Some financial analysts have criticized Hasbro's bold decision to enter talks with DreamWorks Animation over ownership-the company's unsuccessful endeavors with Discovery Communications over the Hub Network are among the most commonly cited. Nonetheless, Hasbro is poised to earn significantly from a deal with DreamWorks Animation if negotiations fall through.
Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen founded DreamWorks Animation in 1994 when it was named DreamWorks SKG.
