GE reportedly looking to acquire Dreamworks

MUMBAI: NBC Universal is reportedly in talks to acquire DreamWorks, the studio that made movies like the Oscar winner American Beauty.

Media reports indicate that while the two parties are holding discussions no deal is in place. The talks do not concern DreamWorks Animation which was spun off from the live action studio with an October 2004 initial public offering.

The animation studio, with hits like Shrek, and Shrek 2, has been a bigger money spinner than the live action studio. Dreamworks’ new movie the action packed The Island which it distributed with Warner Bros cost $122 million and only earned $24.5 million in its opening weekend

The deal, if it goes through, will give NBC Universal the rights to DreamWorks’ library of 60 feature films, as well as its television shows, reports indicate. The acquisition is expected to cost over $750 million (one report has put the purchase price at $ 1 billion).

DreamWorks sold its music division two years ago and has also disposed of a video games unit and scaled back its television production business. The failure is indicative of the difficulty of competing as an independent studio. The market is dominated by financial powerhouses like Sony Pictures and Fox, which belong to media and entertainment conglomerates.