Reliance, DreamWorks are near deal

Reliance Entertainment of India and DreamWorks SKG are close to finalizing a deal to set up a new film company, three people familiar with the negotiations said, allowing Steven Spielberg and others to split from Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures subsidiary.

The group has been looking to raise as much as $1.7 billion for the new venture, one person said on condition of anonymity because negotiations are continuing.

The deal would end an acrimonious relationship between DreamWorks and Paramount, which bought the moviemaking machine behind “Transformers” and “Dreamgirls” for $1.6 billion in 2006.