Forbes author Peter Kafka notes that the combined value of all Dreamworks assets totals $3.4 billion. After comparing it to the the original $2.7 billion value when the company was capitalized he notes that it produced a stunning 2% annualized return. But the founding trio only put up $33 million each -- and the Paramount deal alone will make them $170 million.

The lesson is use someone else's money. I helped create a small company for a multi-billionaire once and he also kept making that same point.

"Now Viacom will be attempting the same trick. They will lay out $1.6 billion for the DreamWorks deal, but ... [are] looking to immediately bring in private backers to pick up ... $1 billion of that, in exchange for DreamWorks' 59-film library. Viacom's pitch: The films ... will throw off around $700 million over the years. And at some point ... investors will be able to resell the asset for another $700 million or $800 million."

For any of you out there who want high-quality movies to help make your digital media business plan work, there is one approach. Maybe Les Moonves should call Brian Roberts.

"Viacom ... will be on the hook for up to $600 million of the purchase price. But it will be able to begin to see cash flow almost immediately through a distribution deal with DreamWorks Animation. Now the risk begins to look much more modest: Paramount is getting a ready-made pipeline of films, the rights to use the animation studio's output in conjunction with its powerhouse cable networks, like Nickelodeon, and Steven Spielberg's halo effect. And it only has to bet a few hundred million of its own dollars."