It appears that merger talks between Hasbro, the nation’s second leading toymaker, and Dreamworks Animation have broken off. The talks between the two entities appeared to make sense, given Hasbro’s desire for a more robust media presence, and Dreamworks Animation’s need for additional revenue streams (see "Hasbro Talking Merger"), but apparently the price that Dreamworks was seeking ($35 a share), which was leaked last week, was too high.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, talks broke off Friday in the wake of published reports from Wall Street analysts that were critical of the $3 billion price that Dreamworks Animation was seeking, which certainly contributed to drops in Hasbro’s stock price of 4% on Thursday followed by a further 2% decline on Friday. The stock drops were enough to spook Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner, who in spite of the potential of Dreamworks’ properties like Kung Fu Panda, Shrek, and Madagascar, pulled out of the talks on Friday.
There is always the potential that the talks could resume, especially if Dreamworks decides to lower the price, but it appears that the merger/acquisition deal is dead for now.
Merger of 'Misfit Toys' Misfires
Posted by ICv2 on November 16, 2014 @ 4:07 pm CT
MORE SHOWBIZ
VIZ, Ize Press, Graphix Dominate the Charts
April 19, 2024
New and evergreen titles from VIZ Media, Ize Press, and Graphix take up almost all the slots in the March Top 20s.
Three-Issue Miniseries to Launch in July 2024
April 19, 2024
The three-issue miniseries will launch in July 2024.
MORE COMICS
Adult Sales Sag; 'Dog Man' Kicks Kids' Sales Higher
April 19, 2024
Sales of the Adult Top 20 were down compared to March 2023, but a new Dog Man release helped bump sales up on the Kids' chart.
Dark Horse to Launch Intergenerational Mystery 'Gilt Frame' in August 2024
April 19, 2024
The intergenerational murder mystery, Gilt Frame, will be published by Dark Horse starting in August 2024.