Comcast makes $3.8bn DreamWorks Animation purchase official

Mass media conglomerate Comcast has officially announced the completion of its purchase of DreamWorks Animation studios.

Costing a cool US$3.8-billion, the studio “will become part of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, which includes Universal Pictures, Fandango, and NBCUniversal Brand Development,” Comcast explains in a presser.

DreamWorks Animation was founded in 1994 by film director Steven Spielberg, current CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and media mogul David Geffen, and is responsible for some 32 major feature films. Its first, Antz, debuted back in 1998, and set the tone for movies like its latest production, Kung Fu Panda 3.

DreamWorks Animation, founded in 1994, will likely bolster Comcast’s animated movie production ambitions

The studio’s also responsible for the likes of How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek and Madagascar.

According to the LA Times, Comcast’s acquisition of the studio could help the company firm its presence in China, and bolster its own animation ambitions. Comcast already owns its own animation studio, Illumination Entertainment, responsible for the Despicable Me franchise.

Side effects of the sale includes DreamWorks delisting from the NASDAQ stock exchange, with the studio joining Comcast’s Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. Katzenberg will also fetch a hefty US$391-million payout thanks in part to sold shares.

It’s been a fairly busy mid-year for Comcast acquisitions considered. The company recently bought connected home company iControl Networks in June 2016 for an undisclosed amount.

Feature image: Pascal Terjan via Flickr