"Viacom Inc. on Wednesday said it is ""close to a deal"" to sell the DreamWorks live-action film library, which is expected to fetch more than $950 million.

Viacom's film division Paramount Pictures announced a deal in December to buy DreamWorks SKG for about $1.6 billion, comprised of $774 million in cash and the rest in the a assumption of debt.

""This transaction will be a key element in the acceleration of the turnaround of Paramount,"" Viacom CEO Tom Freston told analysts in a conference call.

Reuters"