SAN RAFAEL -- The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) today completed its $4.06 billion acquisition of Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC, which was based in San Rafael for three decades and retains production facilities northwest of the city.
Included in the deal between Disney and Lucasfilm shareholder George Lucas, announced Oct. 30, is the Star Wars movie franchise, operating businesses in live-action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects and audio postproduction, as well as a cutting-edge entertainment technologies. It operates under the names Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound, which is based at Mr. Lucas' Skywalker Ranch northeast of San Rafael.
"Star Wars is one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time and this transaction combines that world class content with Disney’s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets, which we believe will generate growth as well as significant long-term value,” said Disney President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger in a statement.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, at closing Disney issued Lucasfilm owner George Lucas 37.08 million shares and made a cash payment of $2.21 billion. Based upon the closing price of Disney shares today at $50.00, the transaction has a total value of about $4.06 billion.
