In Hollywood, ego is everything, sometimes so much so, that it
gets in the way of a good M&A deal. Just ask Hollywood producers and icons
Steven Spielberg and David Geffen. According to the Los Angeles Times, the two
are nearing an exit from DreamWorks SKG, a movie studio they partly owned and
sold to Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures
only
two years ago for $1.6 billion.
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Spielberg and Geffen reportedly will be
leaving DreamWorks by the end of the year because they weren't given enough
credit for Paramount's turnaround since its purchase of the movie studio.
DreamWorks has been able to put out financial box office hits for Paramount
that include "Norbit," "Disturbia" and "Dreamgirls." But still, tension has
also reportedly risen between Geffen and 84-year-old Viacom chairman Sumner
Redstone over internal power struggles, backbiting, perceived snubs and
accusations of credit grabbing. Sounds like just another Hollywood drama. And
it seems it's just a matter of time before a separation happens based on
Paramount chairman Brad Grey latest comments in an interview with LA Times:
"The deal for us has been highly profitable and is ahead of schedule. ... It
would always be better to have Steven and DreamWorks with us, but of course
we'll be OK if they leave." — Gerald Magpily
Read Los Angeles Times article
Read Reuters
Read TheDeal.com article
Tags: corporate restructuring, Viacom, DreamWorks
