DreamWorks Animation to buy Classic Media for $155 million: report

DreamWorks Animation SKG, the maker of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda animation movies, is buying Classic Media for $155 million in cash, The Wall Street Journal today reported saying where it got the information from.

The journal said that DreamWorks outbid more than half a dozen bidders for Classic Media, which is owned by Boomerang Media Holdings I, a portfolio company of private-equity firm GTCR LLC.

Founded in 2000 by former Marvel Entertainment CEO Eric Ellenbogen and former Broadway Video executive John Engelman, New York-based Classic Media, is an entertainment company with a portfolio of leading kids, family and pop-culture entertainment brands like Casper, Lassie, Postman Pat and over 450 other entertainment titles.

Classic Media programming is distributed in more than 170 territories worldwide and showcased across multiple formats, including TV, film, home video, consumer products, publishing, digital, and music.

Classic Media will operate under the DreamWorks Classics brand and co-chief executives Ellenbogen and Engelman will remain as co-heads.

Founded in 1994 by director and producer Steven Spielberg, music executive David Geffen, and former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, Glendale, California-based DreamWorks creates family entertainment, including computer-generated animated feature films, television specials and series and live entertainment properties.

In 2004, DreamWorks produced Shrek 2, the third-highest revenue-grossing movie of all time. The company has theatrically released a total of 22 animated feature films, including the franchise properties of Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon.