Lucasfilm
Under the deal, Disney acquired ownership of "Star Wars", "Indiana Jones", and Lucasfilm's operating businesses in live-action film production, consumer products, video games, animation, visual effects, and audio post-production. Disney also acquired Lucasfilm's portfolio of entertainment technologies. The intent was for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations. "Star Wars" merchandising would begin under Disney in the fiscal year 2014. Starting with "Star Wars Rebels", certain products will be co-branded with the Disney name, akin to what Disney has done with Pixar. On December 4, 2012, the Disney-Lucasfilm merger was approved by the Federal Trade Commission, allowing the acquisition to be finalized without dealing with antitrust problems. On December 18, 2012, Lucasfilm Ltd. converted from a corporation to a limited liability company, changing its name to Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC in the process. On December 21, 2012, Disney completed the acquisition and Lucasfilm became a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney.
George Lucas
"Star Wars" quickly became the highest-grossing film of all-time, displaced five years later by Spielberg's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial". After the success of "American Graffiti" and prior to the beginning of filming on "Star Wars", Lucas was encouraged to renegotiate for a higher fee for writing and directing "Star Wars" than the $150,000 agreed. He declined to do so, instead negotiating for advantage in some of the as-yet-unspecified parts of his contract with Fox, in particular ownership of licensing and merchandising rights (for novelizations, T-shirts, toys, etc.) and contractual arrangements for sequels. The studio was unconcerned to relinquish these rights, as its last major attempt in the field, with the film "Doctor Dolittle" (1967), had proved a discouraging failure. Lucas exploited merchandising rights wisely, and Lucasfilm has earned hundreds of millions of dollars from licensed games, toys, and collectibles created for the franchise.