Hasbro 'in talks' to buy Hollywood studio DreamWorks Animation

The talks with Hasbro come more than a month after discussions with Japan's Softbank fell apart

The talks with Hasbro come after discussions with Japan's Softbank fell apart (Dreamworks)

Toymaker Hasbro is in talks to buy Hollywood studio DreamWorks Animation as chief executive Brian Goldner moves to build up an entertainment arm.

Insiders said DreamWorks is looking to secure more than $30 a share, in a deal that would bring together the hit film-making prowess of DreamWorks Animation, which was spun out of Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks business in 2004, with Hasbro’s ability to flog lucrative memorabilia.

DreamWorks, led by Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, has moved into toys and other products in recent years but lags behind rivals like Disney, while Hasbro, America’s second-biggest toymaker which also owns the My Little Pony, GI Joe and Play-Doh brands, wants to diversify from being a perennial on shelves to become an international entertainment giant.

Hasbro may be chasing the success of Denmark’s Lego Group, which branched out from plastic bricks to a global franchise of theme parks and a Warner Bros film, The Lego Movie, which had box office sales of $468.1 million.

The talks with Hasbro come more than a month after discussions with Japan's Softbank fell apart. DreamWorks shares closed at $22.37, giving it a market value of $1.91 billion. Hasbro stock closed at $57.47, with a market capitalization of $7.22 billion.