Hasbro in talks to buy DreamWorks Animation SKG

Hasbro Inc, a US toy and board game company, is in talks to acquire the DreamWorks Animation SKG film studio, Bloomberg yesterday reported, citing sources.

Dreamworks Animation, which has a market value of about $1.9 billion, is seeking more than $30 a share, the report said.

Dreamworks Animation, the maker of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda animation movies, had earlier been in fruitless talks with Japanese telecommunications company Softbank Corp run by Masayoshi Son.

Founded in 1994 by director and producer Steven Spielberg, music executive David Geffen, and former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, California-based DreamWorks creates family entertainment, including computer-generated animated feature films, television specials and series and live entertainment properties.

In 2004, DreamWorks produced Shrek 2, the third-highest revenue-grossing movie of all time. The company has released a total of 27 animated feature films in theatres, including the franchise properties of Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Puss In Boots and The Croods.

Founded in 1923, Rhode Island-based Hasbro is the world's biggest toy manufacturer. It is also into games, television programming, motion pictures and digital gaming.

The company's Hasbro Studios develops and produces television programming for more than 180 territories around the world, and for the US on Hub Network, part of a joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Communications.