Walt Disney Co. is purchasing Lucasfilm Ltd. for a little over $4 billion. Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger’s $15 billion bet on creative franchises has been strengthened thanks to the ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Indiana Jones’ films.
George Lucas is the sole owner of both series. According to a statement from Disney, Mr. Lucas will receive half his payment in cash and half in stock, making him one of the largest investors in the company.
Iger, who has already spent $11.2 billion to acquire Pixar and Marvel, believes memorable characters will be valuable regardless of their medium.
“Technology has proved more friend than foe to great storytelling,” Iger said. “It allows us to distribute in ways we never though would have been imaginable.”
Matthew Harrigan, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities Denver, said: “If Disney is really trying to focus on the tent-pole, event pictures, and given that this is something that has huge carryover value in the parks and merchandise business, it certainly makes sense. This is just the paradigm of the sustainable Hollywood franchise.”
The new Star Wars films, to begin in 2015, will likely follow in their predecessors’ footsteps, with Lucas staying involved as a creative consultant. According to data from Bloomberg show, Lucas will receive 40 million Disney shares. This will make him the second-largest non-institutional shareholder. The largest is the late Steve Jobs, who sold Pixar.
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