Hasta La Gadget!

In what may be considered as the acquisition of all acquisitions, the Walt Disney Company has bought Lucasfilm Ltd. for just over $4 billion. The production company is responsible for all six Star Wars movies, as well as the Indiana Jones series, The Land Before Time, and American Graffiti.

The deal is a stock and cash transaction, with Lucasfilm founder George Lucas receiving around half of the $4.05 billion in cash, plus approximately 40 million stock shares. Lucas says that “it’s now time for [him] to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers.” Lucas always believed that the Star Wars name would live on well past his death, so Lucas “thought it was important to set up the transition during [his] lifetime.”

The deal also includes Industrial Light & Magic, Skywalker Sound, and LucasArts, meaning that all the Star Wars video games are also now owned by Disney. Kathleen Kennedy, Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will take over as President of the new Lucasfilm division and will report to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn. George Lucas himself will stay on as creative consultant for the new Star Wars films, with Kennedy serving as executive producer.

It’s obviously unknown what the transaction will mean for the future of Lucasfilm and its many movies that it produced, but going from being completely owned by just one person (George Lucas) to now being owned by a huge corporation will surely spark some changes in the company, and possibly even some changes to upcoming films.

Disney acquires Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

In a joint press conference, Softbank has officially announced that it is buying a 70 percent stake in US mobile carrier Sprint for $20.1 billion. The Japanese company is paying $12.1 billion for existing shares, with a further $8 billion for new shares that the network is issuing. CNBC has reported previously that it would net Sprint around $3 billion in much-needed cash, which it could use to regain control of Clearwire and bolster its LTE rollout. When Dan Hesse took to the stage, he said that the company’s heavy investment (both in Network Vision and in its iPhone gamble) would bring a “margin expansion” in 2014.

Continue reading Softbank confirms 70 percent Sprint acquisition for $20.1 billion

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Internet, Mobile, Sprint

Softbank confirms 70 percent Sprint acquisition for $20.1 billion originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 04:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After a bunch of rumors, last week the merger between T-Mobile and MetroPCS became official. At the time, T-Mobile executives were saying that the merger would close sometime in the first half of 2013, and today, T-Mobile’s parent company Deutsche Telekom is getting a little more specific about that window. In an interview with German newspaper Boersenzeitung (as reported by Reuters), Deutsche Telekom CFO Timotheus Hoettges said that money probably won’t change hands until the second quarter of next year.

“The transaction is not likely be carried out until the second quarter of 2013,” Hoettges said. The deal, which will be a reverse merger with MetroPCS buying out T-Mobile, will end with Deutsche Telekom owning 74% of the US-based budget carrier and MetroPCS getting a cool $1.5 billion. Current MetroPCS customers have a little while to wait before they’re taken under T-Mobile’s wing, though, as we’re finding out today that the merger won’t close for a few more months at least.

It’s easy to see why Deutsche Telekom wants to buy MetroPCS, as doing so will give T-Mobile the boost it needs here in the US. After the merger is complete, T-Mobile will have an edge when it comes to competing against AT&T and Verizon, the two biggest players in the US mobile market. This merger also means that Deutsche Telekom can try to expand its US efforts without keeping all of its eggs in one basket – if it doesn’t work out, the company can just sell off MetroPCS and keep T-Mobile going.

In other words, T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom are in for a few very exciting months. MetroPCS is very popular when it comes to budget carriers, so it should prove to be a good buy for Deutsche Telekom. We’ll see if that’s the case soon enough, as it shouldn’t be too much longer before MetroPCS becomes a part of T-Mobile and, by extension, Deutsche Telekom. Stay tuned.

T-Mobile, MetroPCS merger may not close until Q2 2013 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

While recent rumors suggested Sprint could be interested in snatching up Metro PCS, it may actually be the target of an acquisition.The Nikkei, Reuters and Wall Street Journal report it is in final buyout talks with Japanese carrier Softbank at a price in excess of 1 trillion yen ($12 billion US). Just over a week ago Softbank snapped up rival eAccess in a billion dollar deal that added 50 percent more base stations to its LTE network and will move it from third to second largest in the country when it is completed. It got to third place with a leveraged buyout of Vodafone’s Japanese arm back in 2006, and CEO Masayoshi Son mentioned last week that he has his eye on the number one spot. We’re not exactly sure how a potential purchase of the third place American carrier fits into its plans (or what this means for Sprint’s future, its LTE rollout and its often woeful 3G speeds), but we’re betting Softbank’s CFO is just trying to keep Son away from any juicy looking eBay “Buy It Now” auctions.

Update: Looks like those reports were on the money: Sprint just released a statement confirming it is in talks with Softbank about a possible transaction. Find that terse press release embedded below.

Continue reading Japan’s Softbank in ‘advanced talks’ to acquire Sprint for more than $12 billion (update: confirmed)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sprint

Japan’s Softbank in ‘advanced talks’ to acquire Sprint for more than $12 billion (update: confirmed) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 07:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twitter has pretty much nailed text-based interaction, so it looks like it’s time to diversify into video. According to AllThingsD, the blue birdie has snapped up a three-man outfit called Vine, a video-sharing startup intended specifically for bite-sized clips. You’d be forgiven for not knowing it — the service hasn’t actually launched yet — and there’s no word on whether it’ll operate independently or be assimilated by the social network. There are bound to be more details revealed soon, and it might not be too long before you’re sharing less in 140 characters and more in five-second clips.

Filed under: Internet

Twitter said to have acquired fledgling video-sharing service Vine originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 09:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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