Dreaming Solo
And just as quickly, it appears that DreamWorks won't be consumed by the mothership just yet. Variety reports today on the end of the two-month exclusive negotiation window for the potential acquisition of DreamWorks by NBCUniversal and the breakdown in discussions.
While focusing on an apparent price change by NBCUniversal that would bring the sale below the initial $1 billion level, the article points to Steven Spielberg as the greater cause of disruption. Desiring creative control and an intact organization, DreamWorks used the price change as reason to walk away from the table.
Variety makes clear that Universal will still be looking for acquiring content to fill the big empty pipe they are regaining from the UIP slimdown with Lions Gate still seen as prey around town (despite moves to bulk up). Also, there are other studios that may find DreamWorks a tasty morsel, including Paramount -- with its own UIP pipeline issue -- and Disney -- with an unclear future with Pixar, DreamWorks Animation is an alternative.
At the end of the day, that price point may be the key obstacle. Noting that with only a 60-title library the relative valuation far exceeds that of MGM when it was acquired by Sony, Variety intuits that financial buyers would not step up.