With its $4.05 billion acquisition of Lucasfilm, the Walt Disney Company is proving yet again that it is willing to pay up to land a big franchise.
Disney's takeover of Lucasfilm, keeper of the the “Star Wars†franchise, ranks as the media empire's second-biggest since its 1995 merger with Capital Cities, according to data from Capital IQ. Only the company's $7.6 billion purchase of Pixar ranks higher, with the $3.9 billion acquisition of Marvel Entertainment following closely behind.
Under the terms of the deal, Disney will pay equal amounts of cash and stock, which will include the issuance of 40 million new shares.
It could significantly increase the wealth of George Lucas, who owns Lucasfilm - described in the press release as “the sole shareholder†of the company. Earlier this year, Forbes estimated Mr. Lucas's net worth at about $3.2 billion.
Surveying Disney's list of mergers, one element that stands out is the company's willingness t o spend to acquire big-ticket content. The Pixar transaction brought with it the animation studio's stable of lucrative film series, including the “Toy Story†and “Monsters Inc.†franchises.
And the Marvel deal gave Disney control over characters like Iron Man and Captain America, which paid off in spades with successful movies like “The Avengers.†That one movie alone grossed $1.5 billion worldwide.
But acquiring the Star Wars universe may be the most lucrative to date. It has already spawned one of the most extensive media and merchandising empires in modern history. (Lucasfilm will also give Disney the rights to the Indiana Jones franchise and Industrial Light and Magic, the special-effects powerhouse.)
Disney is wasting no time taking advantage of its new toy: It's planning to introduced the seventh “Star Wars†movie sometime in 2015.
