{"id":9000,"date":"2012-10-30T15:11:24","date_gmt":"2012-10-30T20:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yakfaceforums.com\/main\/?p=9000"},"modified":"2012-10-30T15:12:51","modified_gmt":"2012-10-30T20:12:51","slug":"disney-acquires-lucasfilm-episode-7-in-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yakfaceforums.com\/main\/2012\/10\/30\/disney-acquires-lucasfilm-episode-7-in-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Disney Acquires Lucasfilm – Episode 7 in 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

BURBANK, Calif. & SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, The Walt\u00a0Disney\u00a0\u00a0Company (NYSE:DIS) has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. in a stock and cash transaction. Lucasfilm is 100% owned by Lucasfilm Chairman and Founder, George Lucas.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney stock on October 26, 2012, the transaction value is $4.05 billion, with Disney paying approximately half of the consideration in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing. The final consideration will be subject to customary post-closing balance sheet adjustments.<\/p>\n

\u201cLucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas,\u201d said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and\u00a0Chief Executive Officer\u00a0of The\u00a0Walt Disney<\/a>\u00a0Company. \u201cThis transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including\u00a0Star Wars,\u00a0<\/em>one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney\u2019s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>\u00a0passed from one generation to the next,\u201d said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. \u201cIt\u2019s now time for me to pass\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>\u00a0on to a new generation of filmmakers. I\u2019ve always believed thatStar Wars<\/em>\u00a0could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I\u2019m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization,\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>\u00a0will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney\u2019s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Lucasfilm, a leader in entertainment,\u00a0innovation\"\"\u00a0and technology, including its massively popular and \u201cevergreen\u201d\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>\u00a0franchise and its operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio post production. Disney will also acquire the substantial portfolio of cutting-edge entertainment technologies that have kept audiences enthralled for many years. Lucasfilm, headquartered in San Francisco, operates under the names Lucasfilm Ltd., LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound, and the present intent is for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations.<\/p>\n

Kathleen Kennedy, current Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will become President of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. Additionally she will serve as the brand manager for\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>, working directly with Disney\u2019s global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Ms. Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new\u00a0Star Wars\u00a0<\/em>feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant.\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>\u00a0Episode 7<\/em>\u00a0is targeted for release in 2015<\/strong>, with more feature films expected to continue the\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>\u00a0saga and grow the franchise well into the future.<\/p>\n

The acquisition combines two highly compatible family entertainment brands, and strengthens the long-standing beneficial relationship between them that already includes successful integration of\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>\u00a0content into Disney theme parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris and Tokyo.<\/p>\n

Driven by a tremendously talented creative team, Lucasfilm\u2019s legendary\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>\u00a0franchise has flourished for more than 35 years, and offers a virtually limitless universe of characters and stories to drive continued feature film releases and franchise growth over the long term.\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>\u00a0resonates with consumers around the world and creates extensive opportunities for Disney to deliver the content across its diverse portfolio of businesses including movies, television, consumer products, games and theme parks.\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>\u00a0feature films have earned a total of $4.4 billion in global box to date, and continued global demand has made\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>\u00a0one of the world\u2019s top product brands, and Lucasfilm a leading product licensor in the United States in 2011. The franchise provides a sustainable source of high quality, branded content with global appeal and is well suited for new business models including digital platforms, putting the acquisition in strong alignment with Disney\u2019s strategic priorities for continued long-term growth.<\/p>\n

The Lucasfilm acquisition follows Disney\u2019s very successful acquisitions of\u00a0Pixar<\/a>\u00a0and Marvel, which demonstrated the company\u2019s unique ability to fully develop and expand the financial potential of high quality creative content with compelling characters and storytelling through the application ofinnovative technology\"\"\u00a0and multiplatform distribution on a truly global basis to create maximum value. Adding Lucasfilm to Disney\u2019s portfolio of world class brands significantly enhances the company\u2019s ability to serve consumers with a broad variety of the world\u2019s highest-quality content and to create additional long-term value for our shareholders.<\/p>\n

The Boards of Directors of Disney and Lucasfilm have approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, and other customary closing conditions. The agreement has been approved by the sole shareholder of Lucasfilm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BURBANK, Calif. & SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, The Walt\u00a0Disney\u00a0\u00a0Company (NYSE:DIS) has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. in a stock and cash transaction. Lucasfilm is 100% owned by Lucasfilm Chairman and Founder, George Lucas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,73],"class_list":["post-9000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-collecting","tag-disney","tag-lucasfilm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yakfaceforums.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yakfaceforums.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yakfaceforums.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yakfaceforums.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yakfaceforums.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9000"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/yakfaceforums.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9002,"href":"https:\/\/yakfaceforums.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9000\/revisions\/9002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yakfaceforums.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yakfaceforums.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yakfaceforums.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}