The Federal Trade Commission today gave Disney’s $4.05 billion purchase of Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise the green light. The FTC posted an “early termination” to its typical 30-day regulatory waiting period online Tueday. That clears any merger and antitrust issues for Disney. Announced October 30, the company’s acquisition of Lucasfilm can now formally move forward. No date of when the deal will actually close has been given by either Disney or Lucas. The year 2015 was given, however, as the date for the new Star Wars movie by Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger when the deal was announced. At least two more Star Wars movies will follow in the next few years. Lucas himself has handed over the running of Lucasfilm to Kathleen Kennedy but is serving as a consultant and brand manager. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire scribe Michael Arndt was announced on November 9 as the screenplay writer for Episode VII.
Disney-Lucasfilm Deal Cleared By Feds
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OK, bring on the movies! Don’t see why the Star Wars franchise couldn’t be like the Bond franchise (fifty years and still ticking)!
The big difference is that Marvel was publicly traded where as Lucasfilm was privately owned.
Any Disney employee privy to the information that the deal was about to happen would only be able to buy and sell disney stock (legally) through salary reduction schemes that are set up long before.
When you want to move large amounts of shares it is ALWAYS questioned and the people who knew of this deal are high profile enough (and/or locked in to non disclosure agreements) and wouldn’t and couldn’t get away with any insider trading that would net them any significant gains.
I want to see the SEC investigate this deal for insider trading. Obviously many people at Disney knew they were going to be buying Lucasfilm. Are we to believe that none of these insiders traded on that privileged information? That would be impossible to believe. A couple years ago a woman who worked at Disney was arrested and prosecuted for insider trading and it was for the Marvel deal if my memory is correct.
Disney to Feds: “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”
LOL! And I wonder which media conglomerate these FTC “regulators” will go to work for after they leave gov’t service. There oughta be a law.
Kathleen Kennedy is cool.