The Walt Disney Company said Friday that it has completed its $4.06 billion deal to acquire Lucasfilm, bring "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" under the entertainment giant's control.
The massive purchase also paves the way for three new "Star Wars" films, the first of which will hit theaters in 2015.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Lucasfilm to the Disney family,” Robert A. Iger, Walt Disney Company CEO, said in a statement. “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.”
Also read: Inside Lucasfilm's Tangled Web of Rights: What Disney Bought for $4B
As part of the deal,Disney issued 37,076,679 shares of its stock and made a cash payment of more than $2 billion. Friday's $50 closing price of Disney shares actually makes the deal a little richer for Lucasfilm head George Lucas. The deal had originally been valued at $4.05 billion, but the uptick in stock price gave it a total value of about $4.06 billion.
In addition to its two Tiffany film franchises, Lucasfilm’s assets include the effects and production companies, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound.