DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg Payouts to Top $400 Million Following Comcast Deal

By Erich Schwartzel 

In addition to cashing out nearly $400 million in company stock, DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg can expect an additional payout of about $44.5 million when he departs his studio following its expected sale to Comcast Corp., according to a regulatory filing released Monday.

Mr. Katzenberg, who has been CEO of the "Shrek" and "Madagascar" studio since it went public in 2004, will receive about $14.9 million in cash payments tied to vested stock-appreciation rights and about $29.6 million in a change-in-control payout when he leaves the company as part of the deal. Those amounts are on top of about $380 million he will receive for his existing equity in the company.

Comcast agreed to buy DreamWorks in late April for $3.8 billion of cash, or $41 a share. News of the tie-up came after about two weeks of negotiations with Comcast, who approached DreamWorks about a sale while the company was in separate deal talks with PAG Asia Capital, a Chinese private-equity firm, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Mr. Katzenberg's role at DreamWorks following the acquisition was among the sticking points of the talks, with the executive at one point offering to take a reduced role at the company if Comcast boosted its offer, according to the filing.

Mr. Katzenberg is set to become chairman of DreamWorks New Media, a venture that will include NBCUniversal's interests in the AwesomenessTV online video company and the 3-D technology business NOVA, following the sale.

--Ben Fritz contributed to this article.

Write to Erich Schwartzel at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 12, 2016 15:03 ET (19:03 GMT)

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