Just as Viacom (NYSE:VIA) is gearing up to split its shares in two, it's showing that it isn't afraid to take on a little extra weight. On Sunday, the media giant struck a $1.6 billion deal to acquire DreamWorks SKG.

It's not exactly news that the studio Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen built was on the trading block. General Electric (NYSE:GE) made a play for DreamWorks earlier this year. Back in September, Geffen confirmed that GE and DreamWorks had decided not to pursue further merger negotiations.

Usually, an established studio is acquired for its content library. The reason Sony (NYSE:SNE) was willing to take on the roughly $5 billion price tag for MGM's ailing movie studio was the juicy film vault that MGM had accumulated over the decades when its signature lion truly roared.

However, things may be different this time. In fact, Viacom may just turn right around and sell off the DreamWorks SKG library and just keep the existing projects and the cinematic minds behind the movie magic.

DreamWorks SKG doesn't have an MGM kind of history. Even the marquee names that spell out the SKG moniker don't have that kind of history with the studio. Spielberg's earlier classics and blockbuster franchises, including Jurassic Park and the Indiana Jones series, belong to other studios. Katzenberg's crowning achievements at Disney (NYSE:DIS) will obviously stay there, and his computer-animation powerhouse DreamWorks Animation (NYSE:DWA) is not part of the deal. Geffen's musical empire at Geffen Records is also not in Viacom's shopping cart.

So what is Viacom looking to get? If it ultimately keeps the content, Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan and War of the Worlds are there, along with other celluloid winners like Gladiator and American Beauty. The audience pleasers like Shrek, Shrek 2, and Madagascar belong to Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation DreamWorks Animation, but DreamWorks SKG gets a thin cut of the box office action as the animation studio's distributor.

The future may be worth the move, as Cannes favorite Match Point will hit theaters next month and Spielberg's Munich opens later this month. Both are the handiwork of DreamWorks SKG. That's why Viacom doesn't have a problem in taking on the extra baggage. Even as it is busy trying -- and so far failing -- in convincing investors that Viacom is worth more than it is currently worth by splitting up the conglomerate, some flicks are just too good to pass up on.

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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz enjoys going to the movies. Sometimes he enjoys leaving them, too He owns shares in Disney. The Fool has a disclosure policy. He is also part of theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.