In a move that caught the Disney fan community (and everyone else!) by surprise, The Walt Disney Company has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. for 4.05 billion dollars in a half cash, half stock transaction.
You can see the video of the signing here.
Walt Disney Company Chariman and CEO Robert Iger said that “Lucasfim reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas”. Iger continued, “This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney’s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value”
Photo: Copyright Disney
You can read the full press release below my article.
Disney has already announced Star Wars Episode 7, targeted for release in 2015.
But what about the Disney parks?
It is clear that Disney wants to utilize their new acquisition more in the parks, and they will be able to use the properties of Lucasfilm in a way that they can't right now with Marvel (at least at Walt Disney World).
Just yesterday, I was wondering what Disney could do in Florida to possibly rival what Universal Orlando has been working on. The announcement for Transformers: The Ride is set for November 1st, and a Harry Potter expansion has been in the works, hopefully to open by 2015. While the New Fantasyland is absolutely stunning in many ways, and Be Our Guest Restaurant should be a wonderful and unique experience…I don't see it as a reason to extend a vacation or a reason in itself to visit. On the other hand, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter cast a spell over guests, and I expect more multi-day stays to the Universal Orlando Resort once the expansion is complete. Cars Land in Disney California Adventure has drawn guests in a similar manner, creating an immersive environment that families have gone nuts over.
An Avatar Land will never rival The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but a Star Wars Land certainly could. There will never be a "Potter killer", as the Harry Potter franchise is too strong, and Universal has gone to great lengths to provide an experience that even a Harry Potter novice like me can enjoy.
As a former Disney specialist travel agent, I can't imagine guests saying "Add a day to my vacation, I want to see New Fantasyland". But a Star Wars Land? Yeah, that I can imagine. The first Star Wars film created fans like me in the 1970's, and has endeared itself to generations since.
While I'm still not convinced on the Marvel purchase, I do like the acquisition of Lucasfilm. It will build on the relationship that George Lucas and Disney began many years ago.
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Full Press Release:
Burbank, CA and San Francisco, CA, October 30, 2012 – Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, The Walt Disney Company (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.
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.
"Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas," said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. "This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney's unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value."
"For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next," said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. "It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I'm confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney's reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products."
Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Lucasfilm, a leader in entertainment, innovation and technology, including its massively popular and "evergreen" Star Wars franchise 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.
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 Star Wars, working directly with Disney's 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 Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant. Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future.
The acquisition combines two highly compatible family entertainment brands, and strengthens the long-standing beneficial relationship between them that already includes successful integration of Star Wars content into Disney theme parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris and Tokyo.
Driven by a tremendously talented creative team, Lucasfilm's legendary Star Wars franchise 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. Star Wars resonates 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. Star Wars feature films have earned a total of $4.4 billion in global box to date, and continued global demand has made Star Wars one of the world's 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's strategic priorities for continued long-term growth.
The Lucasfilm acquisition follows Disney's very successful acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel, which demonstrated the company's unique ability to fully develop and expand the financial potential of high quality creative content with compelling characters and storytelling through the application of innovative technology and multiplatform distribution on a truly global basis to create maximum value. Adding Lucasfilm to Disney's portfolio of world class brands significantly enhances the company's ability to serve consumers with a broad variety of the world's highest-quality content and to create additional long-term value for our shareholders.
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.
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