Dreamworks plans PE-backed JV in China - report
Dreamworks Animation – the studio responsible for movies including “Shrek” and “Kung Fu Panda” – is reportedly nearing the launch of a JV production and design studio in Shanghai. The deal is being brokered through a partnership with a consortium said to include Shanghai Media Group and China Media Capital.
The JV members may collectively invest $2 billion into the venture - titled Dreamworks East - over a period of five years, Caijing reported. The studio could be launched by January, and would produce animations for Chinese audiences and conceptualize theme parks.
The report added that Dreamworks' CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg was recently in China to discuss the studio's launch with government authorities.
The JV is the latest tie-up between Hollywood, China and private equity. In August, Hollywood entertainment company Relativity Media teamed with SAIF Partners and IDG China Media to launch a $100 million fund that will produce and distribute China-focused film content and release it to global moviegoers. The films' production and distribution are processed through SkyLand, which was formerly SAIF Partners and IDG China Media's entertainment arm but is now owned by Relativity.
At the time, SkyLand additionally announced that it partnered with state-owned Huaxia Film Distribution Co., China's second-largest player in the field, to allow Relativity to release movies in China without being bound by a government policy that permits only 20 foreign movies to show in the country annually. Last month, SkyLand began production on the film "21 and Over," its first movie since announcing its partnership with state-owned Huaxia Film Distribution.
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