Spielberg, Anil Ambani Plan $825 Million Film Funding

Steven Spielberg’s new film studio will have about $825 million in financing once the initial funding is completed, according to its biggest investor, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.

DreamWorks SKG, formed in November by Spielberg and Indian billionaire Anil Ambani, will receive equity from Reliance and bank loans, according to an e-mailed statement today from Ambani’s Reliance BIG Entertainment, the distributor for India. Walt Disney Co., which will release films elsewhere, is also providing funding, according to the statement.

DreamWorks plans to start production this year and release its first movie in 2010, according to the statement. The Los Angeles-based studio seeks to make five to six films a year. The initial funding is expected to close shortly, Reliance said, without offering details. In December, Spielberg delayed a plan to raise about $700 million in debt, in addition to equity, a person with knowledge of the situation said at the time. The funding was previously targeted for January, the person said.

“We welcome the opportunity and freedom they have given us to make the films we want to make,” Stacey Snider, chief executive officer of DreamWorks, said in the statement.

Spielberg broke away from Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures in September. He spent $26.5 million of his own money to buy rights to 17 films from Paramount, Variety reported in January.

In February, Disney agreed to distribute DreamWorks films to theaters and to provide the studio with loans that may total as much as $200 million, two people with knowledge of the deal said at the time.

Burbank, California-based Disney will receive fees and increase its release schedule with the DreamWorks agreement.

Disney, the world’s biggest media company, rose 97 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $24.08 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have gained 6.1 percent this year.