Much-anticipated deal is a good fit for both companies and offers strong growth opportunities worldwide.

DreamWorks Animation, home to penguins, pandas and felines, has added an iconic dog, a friendly ghost and many other venerable properties to its portfolio with the acquisition of Classic Media from Boomerang Media Holdings I LLC, a portfolio company of Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR.    

DreamWorks, which paid $155 million in cash for Classic Media and its IP library, makes sense for both parties as it gives DWA the opportunity to expand and maximize new content across multiple entertainment platforms, as well as to grow the potentially lucrative consumer products business at retailers worldwide.

Classic Media's library features more than 450 titles and 6,100 episodes of animated and live-action programming. Its well-established properties include Casper the Friendly Ghost, Where's Waldo?, Lassie, The Lone Ranger, George of the Jungle and Rocky & Bullwinkle, as well as VeggieTales, Postman Pat and Noddy in international markets. It also includes The Christmas Classics including Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town. Additionally, Classic Media owns one of the world's largest comic book archives and media rights to the titles in the Golden Books library.

"Classic Media brings a large and diverse collection of characters and branded assets that are 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," says Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive officer of DreamWorks Animation. "Founders and co-CEOs 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."                                  

According to the exclusive Top 125 Global Licensors report, published annually by License! Global, Classic Media reported $376 million in retail sales of licensed merchandise worldwide and ranked No. 69, while DreamWorks ranked No. 14 with $3 billion in retail sales of licensed merchandise worldwide.

The acquisition makes sense in several ways that neither company could have accomplished on their own. Consider the following:

"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," says Eric Ellenbogen, co-chief executive officer, Classic Media. "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."

One example of the synergy between the two companies had already been established as DreamWorks Animation's 3D feature film Mr. Peabody & Sherman is scheduled for release Dec. 25, 2013. Classic Media has a joint venture with Jay Ward Productions, which includes Rocky & Bullwinkle and Mr. Peabody & Sherman.

With approximately 80 employees headquartered in New York, offices in the U.K. and a division, Big Idea Entertainment, in Nashville, Tenn., Classic Media will continue to operate as a part of DreamWorks.