The rumored Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA) acquisition by Softbank Corp. is just that: a rumor, David Faber said in a discussion on CNBC. Softbank Corp. has been linked to the motion picture production firm after it and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) profited nicely from their respective stakes in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) which recently debuted on the New York Stock Exchange.
Faber’s comment is allegedly based on knowledge culled from people who are familiar with the talks going on between Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA) and Softbank Corp.
“I want to put some cold water on this one. […] People, let’s call it, close to the situation, indicated to me there’s not that much going on here,” Faber said.
However, Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA), he noted, has been for sale for what seems like “forever”. He also noted that Softbank Corp. has former Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) executive Nikesh Arora, vice chairman of SoftBank Corp. and CEO of SoftBank Internet and Media, Inc., who is said to be tasked with growing the business and looking for content possibly through acquisitions.
These two factors are considered as to why it is rumored that Softbank Corp. is interested in Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA). Nonetheless, the buzz created by a report from The Hollywood Reporter which cited a “source with knowledge of the situation” saying that Softbank Corp. may be buying Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc for $3.4 billion is not likely, Faber said.
“While there may be a lot of chatter, people I’ve spoken with indicate [that speculation of an acquisition is] very early [and that the talks] may very well go nowhere. They also point out [that] there may be an interest in working together,” he said.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO)’s and Softbank Corp.’s links are not just because they were early investors in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA). Masayoshi Son, the billionaire who founded Softbank in 1981, was initially a venture investor in Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO). Yahoo and Softbank are also shareholders of Yahoo! JAPAN Corporation which was put up in 1996. Softbank itself was rumored to potentially buy Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) in light of its massive profit in the Alibaba IPO which was valued at $71 billion by Friday’s closing price.
Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA) shareholders includes Murray Stahl’s Horizon Asset Management which reported owning about 11.25 million shares in the company by the end of the second quarter.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO)’s largest institutional investor is David E. Shaw’s D.E. Shaw & Co., L.P. which reported owning about 16.19 million shares in the internet veteran by the end of same period.
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