REPORT: Merger Talks Between Hasbro And DreamWorks Are Over

Deadline reported this week that DreamWorks Animation and Hasbro were in talks to create a combined family entertainment company that would be called DreamWorks-Hasbro, and said the deal is at least 60 days away from being finalized.

But according to Variety, citing sources, those talks are now over. The sources say that the reason the talks ended was because of the unfavorable reception Wall Street gave the news on Wednesday.

Analysts were wary of the possibility, saying that the move made little sense for Hasbro, among other concerns.

"We don't see a plausible argument for why HAS would pay 41% of its current market capitalization for a company which, according to its CEO is facing serious challenges," media analyst Vasily Karasyov of Sterne Agee wrote. "Films profitability continues to decline and the ramp in consumer product revenue the bulls hoped for isn't coming: the revenue stream is down 21% so far in 2014."

Neither of the companies officially confirmed to Variety that the talks ended.

This isn't the first time that DreamWorks merger talks ended right after they began. In September, Japan's SoftBank was rumored to be interested in purchasing the animation studio. But talks apparently slowed down soon after.