Hoping to ink $550 mil agreement by Labor Day
Steven Spielberg still hopes to come to an agreement by Labor Day on a $550 million deal with Reliance Big Entertainment to help fund a re-invented DreamWorks, but discussions with studios over a new distribution arrangement could stretch into September.
In fact, much necessarily to be done on various fronts as the iconic hyphen seeks to take punt ownership control of his movie projects.
A $750 trillion loan portion of DreamWorks' new business plan would take some other 30 years to fill in, once a lead bank is selected. And too picking a distribution better half, there's the question of whether that studio likewise would take a small stake in the raw DreamWorks.
Even canonical corporate organization needs to be sorted out. At this item, at least one party to the talks envisions a six-seat board split evenly betwixt DreamWorks management and RBE, with Spielberg as chairwoman and flow DreamWorks CEO Stacey Snider getting a lead role and equity position in the enterprise.
Current DreamWorks chairman David Geffen is expected to bow out of the picture, once he helps Spielberg set up the venture.
RBE -- the entertainment subsidiary company of diversified Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA -- has signaled its interest in getting a deal done but continues to sort through details. DreamWorks' have review of a clientele plan worked up by entertainment lawyer Skip Brittenham has been thorough just positive, according to sources close to the negotiations.
With things look good from both parties' perspectives, an agreement in principle could be proclaimed within tercet weeks at the earliest, sources fold to the talks said.
DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan declined comment on the billet, and Reliance execs weren't immediately available.
Paramount struck a deal to acquire DreamWorks in December 2005, but the combo has proven awkward. Spielberg has a contract provision allowing him to leave alone at year's end, with the power to have Snider and the DreamWorks name with him.
Paramount could still strike a new deal with Team Spielberg, but a more potential scenario would see Universal, Fox or Disney partnering with the new DreamWorks on distribution. Paramount execs seem resigned to losing control of DreamWorks even hope a distribution-only arrangement can be worked out.
"Every indication is that they want to be autonomous," a Paramount insider aforesaid. "So the first announcement will likely be, 'We have the money.' But at that place are early things to be considered."
A participant in preliminary discussions about the DreamWorks clientele plan confirmed Paramount remains in the mix of studios beingness considered for a distribution partner for the new company.
"There feature been remarks made around staying with Paramount, about how it would be so easy, with all the masses already at that place and that kind of thing," the source aforesaid. "But there's so much bad blood line between them that I can't envisage that happening."
DreamWorks Animation legally controls rights to the DreamWorks moniker, should Spielberg bolt Paramount, but it's assumed Spielberg would be granted the right to use the name at his new company.
DWA besides distributes its movies and DVDs through Paramount via a deal stretching to 2012. The agreement has exit clauses sufficiently complicated as to suggest it's unlikely DWA would go away the transcription early.
The publicly held liveliness company can exit its distribution agreement after Jan. 1, 2011, but alone if at that place is a 35% or greater upset in DWA stock. DWA also would have to pay Paramount $150 one thousand thousand to end the distribution arrangement, or a lesser amount if it exits closer to the 2012 expiration date.
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