DreamWorks acquires Classic Media

Hollywood's DreamWorks Animation says it has acquired Classic Media, owner of hundreds of titles, including the Golden Books library. The studio bought the collection for $155 million in cash from Boomerang Media Holdings, a portfolio company of Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR. Classic Media's collection of filmed entertainment includes 450 titles and more than 6,100 episodes of animated and live-action programming. Among the properties are "Casper the Friendly Ghost," "Where's Waldo?," "Lassie," "The Lone Ranger," "George of the Jungle" and "Rocky & Bullwinkle." Its also includes the classic Christmas stories "Frosty the Snowman," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town," as well as the contemporary bestsellers "VeggieTales" and "Olivia." "Classic Media brings a large and diverse collection of characters and branded assets that is extremely complementary to DreamWorks Animation's franchise business, and we plan to leverage it across our motion picture, television, home entertainment, consumer products, digital, theme park and live entertainment channels," Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive officer of DreamWorks Animation, said in a statement Monday. "Founders and co-chief executive officers Eric Ellenbogen and John Engelman -- seasoned executives with over 20 years of industry experience and a proven track record of success in managing high-quality content -- have built an amazing team at Classic Media and are a welcome addition to the DreamWorks Animation family." "No company knows the family entertainment business better than DreamWorks Animation and we are excited to join their family in a natural extension of our long-standing relationship that began years ago on 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman,'" said Ellenbogen. "Classic Media brings to the table extensive rights to some of the most beloved family entertainment brands in the world. Our combination with DreamWorks Animation will expand the opportunities for us and for our content and distribution partners around the globe."