Disney acquired Lucasfilm Productions on October 30, 2012.
One of the best business decisions ever made was Disney's acquisition of "Star Wars" production company Lucasfilm. On October 30, 2012, the $4.05 billion cash-and-stock acquisition was announced, heralding the start of a new era for the “Star Wars” franchise.
Disney would make back its investment and more in just a few years. The “Star Wars” feature films that Disney has produced have earned more than $4.8 billion at the box office, according to comScore. By acquiring Lucasfilm, Disney directly weakened its rivals, including Pixar and 21st Century Fox. A growing number of rivals who had created computer-aided animation technology had been challenging Disney since the early 2000s, when the media had undergone a digital revolution.
One of the biggest competitors in the film industry was 21st Century Fox. Examining Fox's financial results prior to the acquisition demonstrates that the business did not operate in a competitive market. Recent M&A deals for Disney seem to be profitable. Disney+ would benefit from COVID-19's increased media consumption because of the conditions of social exclusion and isolation. The company will continue to profit from Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, according to the Q3 report, as sales in Disney's Direct-To-Customer segment increased to $4 billion despite a decline in other areas brought on by COVID-19. We therefore anticipate long-term success for Disney's M&A plans in the media sectors.
How much did Disney pay for Star Wars?
A distribution agreement between The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm was formally discussed in May 2011 following a meeting between George Lucas and then-Disney CEO Bob Iger during the opening of the “Star Tours: The Adventures Continues” attraction. Lucas informed Iger that he was thinking about retiring and planned to sell the company as well as the “Star Wars” brand.
On October 30, 2012, Disney announced a deal to purchase Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, with the other half going towards Disney stock. “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” themed theme parks were previously built by Lucasfilm and Disney's Walt Disney Imagineering division for various Walt Disney Parks and Resorts around the world.
Alan Horn, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, will report to Kathleen Kennedy, co-chairman of Lucasfilm. She also serves as the brand manager for “Star Wars,” working with Disney's various business units to develop, meld, and maximize the value of this popular franchise. George Lucas initially served as a creative consultant for the upcoming “Star Wars” motion pictures, with Kennedy serving as a producer.
In accordance with the terms of the agreement, Disney acquired the operating companies of “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” and Lucasfilm in the areas of live-action film production, consumer goods, video games, animation, visual effects, and audio post-production. Disney also acquired the entertainment technology portfolio of Lucasfilm.
Lucasfilm employees were expected to remain in their current position. Disney began selling “Star Wars” merchandise during the 2014 fiscal year. “Star Wars Rebels” will be the first product to bear the Disney name in co-branding.
The Federal Trade Commission gave its blessing to the Disney-Lucasfilm merger on December 4, 2012, enabling the acquisition to go forward without encountering any antitrust issues. On December 18, 2012, Lucasfilm Ltd. changed its legal status from a corporation to a limited liability company, changing its name to Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC. On December 21, 2012, the deal was finalized, and Lucasfilm was made a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney.
What is the analysis of the Lucasfilm acquisition by Disney?
In 2012, the announcement that Disney was acquiring Lucasfilm shocked the entire Star Wars fandom. Fans who were eagerly anticipating new Star Wars movies rejoiced at the news. Disney did not let us down when they announced that production on Star Wars Episode VII would start in 2015.
There is more to Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm than just another trilogy. Bob Iger sat down and once again watched all six “Star Wars” films before deciding to purchase Lucasfilm. Not that he hadn't previously noticed them. But this time, he did it while holding a notepad and a pencil in his hand.
Disney needed to do some research while privately negotiating with George Lucas, the franchise's owner. Iger needed to be aware that Lucasfilm still had a wealth of unreleased content, including Padme Amidala, Darth Vader, and Luke Skywalker. Nine episodes of Star Wars were originally planned. Iger wanted to make sure that Disney could use enough of Lucas' intellectual property. As it turned out, they had.
Lucas meticulously documented the “Star Wars” universe. The Holocron, a sizable database created by Lucasfilms, was named after a fictional, force-powered crystal cube from the series. The real-world Holocron contains information on 17,000 “Star Wars” characters who lived on thousands of worlds over a 20,000-year period. Disney found it challenging to process all of the data.
Lucasfilm receives about $250 million USD on average from licensing. George Lucas was a master at commercializing beloved characters, but Disney has turned the practice into an art. Disney has always been renowned for its talent for developing enduring characters. As part of the merger agreement, Disney issued 37.1 million shares and paid 2.2 billion dollars in cash. Based on the closing share price of Disney on December 21, 2012, which was $50, the transaction was valued at $4.05 billion.
What are the upcoming Star Wars movies?
Untitled movies are set to hit theaters on December 19, 2025, December 17, 2027, and December 21, 2029. Three new movies with stories set in various eras within the franchise were announced in April 2023. “Dawn of the Jedi,” a film that takes place 25,000 years before “The Phantom Menace” and explores the earliest Jedi, will be written and directed by James Mangold.
“The Mandalorian” television series will come to an end with the untitled “Age of the Rebellion” movie that Dave Filoni will direct. It is referred to as an event film that will wrap up the various television series on Disney+.
A third film, currently untitled but taking place in a time period the studio has dubbed the “New Jedi Order,” will be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. The story, written by Steven Knight, will explore Rey Skywalker's experiences as a new Jedi Master trying to revive the Jedi Order. It will take place fifteen years after “The Rise of Skywalker.”
