Comcast is in talks to acquire DreamWorks Animation a deal worth more than $3 billion, sources confirm to Variety.A spokesman for DreamWorks declined to comment.
Hasbro had been in talks to acquire the company, ran by CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, in a deal worth at least $2.3 billion, but the deal fell apart in November 2014. Japanese conglom Softbank also kicked the animation company’s tires in 2014 but talks cooled.
Pressure from Disney, which accounts for about 30 percent of Hasbro’s business, helped derail the deal with the “Transformers” toy-maker.
The Comcast marriage would put DWA, makers of “Shrek,” “Kung Fu Panda,” and “How to Train Your Dragon,” together with Universal and its Illumination animation subsidiary headed by Chris Meledandri, producer of “Despicable Me” and the upcoming “The Secret Life of Pets.”
Comcast announces its first quarter earnings report on Wednesday.
The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.