NEW YORK — Comcast is buying DreamWorks Animation, the film company behind the “Shrek,” “Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda” franchises, for about $3.55 billion, strengthening its presence in the important and growing business of children’s entertainment.
DreamWorks stockholders will receive $41 for each share they own. That’s a 24 percent premium to the company’s Wednesday closing price of $32.20. The companies put the deal’s value at about $3.8 billion.
DreamWorks will become part of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, which includes Universal Pictures.
The nation’s largest cable company said the deal gives NBCUniversal, a unit of Comcast Corp., a “broader reach to a host of new audiences in the highly competitive kids and family entertainment space, in both TV and film.”
In addition to the cartoon franchises, DreamWorks also owns what Comcast called a “thriving TV operation” with its AwesomenessTV network of online video creators and a lengthy contract to create shows for Netflix.
Once the deal closes, DreamWorks co-founder and CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg will become chairman of DreamWorks New Media.
