Disney, Katzenberg Settle Suit

Not with a bang but with a squeak not even worthy of Mickey Mouse, the Walt Disney Co. and Jeffrey Katzenberg settled their dispute over profits Katzenberg says he was owed for projects he worked on before he quit the studio in 1994. The settlement was reached Tuesday afternoon as Katzenberg was calling his final witnesses and Disney was about to present its side of the case in the trial before a retired judge, who was serving as a mediator. Neither side would comment on the details, but The New York Times estimated the settlement to be a total of $200 million, $83 million more than the amount Disney had already paid Katzenberg. In his lawsuit the former studio boss claimed he was owed a bonus of $580 million as a going-away perq when he left Disney. Disney put the figure as low as $119 million.

• In other news of Jeffrey Katzenberg, his new company, DreamWorks, in which he is partnered with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, is said to be looking into the possibility of merging with Universal. (Spielberg’s production company, Amblin Entertainment, is already set up at Universal.)