Paramount Pictures has landed a deal to buy DreamWorks SKG for $1.6 billion in cash and debt, according to news reports.
The Viacom-owned studio will pay about $774 million in cash. The reminder of the purchase price is the assumption of debt, news reports said. The agreement comes after months of on and off negotiations with General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal, reports said.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2006.
As part of the purchase, Paramount will control of DreamWorks’ live-action movie production operation and its 59-title library, which includes movie titles American Beauty and Gladiator, according to news reports.
The deal excludes DreamWorks Animation, which became public last year. Paramount, however, retains the right to distribute DreamWorks animated properties and rights to use future characters in TV shows, reports said.
Movie moguls Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen founded DreamWorks as an independent studio 11 years ago.
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