Industry's eyes on DreamWorks.

NBC Universal is reportedly in talks to purchase DreamWorks SKG, the Glendale-based film studio founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen.

The 11-year old studio, Hollywood's youngest major film house, recently spun off its animated division, home of blockbusters such as "Madagascar," "A Shark's Tale," and the "Shrek" films, leaving the live-action component of the company as the only department left standing.

While there are no clear-cut indications of how much the studio would sell for, analysts have reportedly given estimates ranging between $750 million and $1 billion. The last studio to be sold, Metro-GoldwynMayer, was purchased by Sony in April of this year, for $5 billion, though that figure included a 4,000 film library. While DreamWorks has produced its share of blockbusters, including "Gladiator," "Saving Private Ryan," and "American Beauty," among others, most industry analysts believe that its performance has failed to meet the lofty expectations of its founders.

The company sold its music business in 2003, while its television division's performance has generally been uneven. Last year's IPO offering of DreamWorks Animation has only met with middling success, as DVD shortfalls have led to a gradual decline in its stock price.

According to the New York Times, if a deal is struck, NBC Universal will acquire DreamWorks' library of 60 feature films, as well as its television shows. NBC Universal would also acquire the distribution agreements for both DreamWorks' live-action and animated movies, as well as the live-action films currently in development.

Though nothing has been finalized, this is not the first time that DreamWorks' trio has considered a sale. They held talks several years back with MGM, prior to its sale to Sony. According to that never-actualized plan, DreamWorks would have made original films, while the joint DreamWorks/MGM company would have profited heavily off of MGM's fabled back catalogue.

The deal, which was pushed by MGM, never got off the ground because DreamWorks didn't want to give up control of the company to Kirk Kerkorian, MGM's majority shareholder at the time.

At the moment, NBC Universal seems to be the only serious bidder for the company. It has been reported that none of the other studios have had any contact with DreamWorks about being a possible buyer. Many in the industry have speculated that a potential sale of the company was inevitable after the animation IPO earlier this year.