The termination of merger talks between DreamWorks Animation and Hasbro has plunged the company behind Shrek and Penguins of Madagascar into a state of high anxiety.
The stalled Hasbro negotiation is the second in recent weeks to be leaked to the media only to be declared dead within 48 hours. THR revealed Sept. 27 that Japan’s SoftBank was interested in buying DWA for as much as $3.4 billion. Around that point, however, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son had started to cool to the idea. DWA was angling to sweeten the price when news of the talks broke and the potential deal was scuttled.
It is unclear whether that leak was in part to blame, but the news motivated Hasbro, which is said to have first toyed (so to speak) with the idea of acquiring DWA two years ago. No serious talks took place then, but Hasbro recently had been prepared to engage in a substantive discussion. In the wake of the SoftBank leak, a knowledgeable source says DWA tried to hold information about the conversation as close to the vest as possible. Nonetheless, news of those prospective talks soon became known.
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