List of acquisitions by Disney
The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923 and since 1996 has acquired many properties to
increase its size in the media industry. The table shows the most substantial and important acquisitions that Disney has made over the years.
Acquisitions
Acquired company 44
Date
Country
Price (US$)
Price Adjusted for Inflation (US$)
Parent/Merged With
References
1
Disneyland, Inc.
1957 (64% controlling stake)
USA
562,500
6,000,000
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products
[ 1]
1960 (remaining shares)
USA
7,500,000
77,000,000
[ 2] [ 3]
2
WED Enterprises (park designing and engineering division)
1965
USA
3
Retlaw Enterprises (parks transportation division)
1982
USA
42,600,000
134,000,000
[ 4]
4
Wrather Corporation
1987 (50% share)
USA
[ 5]
1988 (remaining 50%)
USA
[ 6]
5
Miramax Films
1993
USA
60,000,000
The Walt Disney Studios
6
Capital Cities/ABC Inc.
February 9, 1996
USA
19,000,000,000
36,912,000,000
Disney General Entertainment Content
[ 7]
7
Toysmart
August 1996
USA
Disney Interactive
[ 8]
8
Starwave
April 30, 1998
USA
400,000,000
748,000,000
Go.com
[ 9]
9
Infoseek
July 12, 1999
USA
1,770,000,000
3,237,000,000
[ 10] [ 11]
10
Fox Family Worldwide Saban Entertainment
October 24, 2001
USA
2,900,000,000
4,990,000,000
ABC Family Worldwide Buena Vista Studios Entertainment
[ 12]
11
The Baby Einstein Company
November 6 2001
USA
The Walt Disney Company
12
The Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House properties (The Jim Henson Company )
February 17, 2004
USA
75,000,000
121,000,000
The Muppets Studio
[ 13]
13
Avalanche Software
April 19, 2005
USA
Disney Interactive Studios
[ 14]
14
Living Mobile
October 19, 2005
Germany
Walt Disney Internet Group
[ 15]
15
Pixar
May 5, 2006
USA
7,400,000,000
11,184,000,000
Walt Disney Studios
[ 16]
16
Climax Racing
September 2006
UK
Disney Interactive Studios
[ 17]
17
Junction Point Studios
February 8, 2007
USA
[ 18]
18
New Horizon Interactive
August 2007
Canada
350,000,000
497,000,000
[ 19]
19
GameStar
February 2009
China
[ 20]
20
Kerpoof
February 2009
USA
Disney.com
21
Wideload Games
September 8, 2009
USA
Disney Interactive Studios
[ 21]
22
Marvel Entertainment
December 31, 2009
USA
4,400,000,000
6,249,000,000
The Walt Disney Company
[ 22]
23
Tapulous
July 1, 2010
USA
Disney Mobile
[ 23]
24
Playdom
August 27, 2010
USA
563,000,000
747,000,000
Disney Interactive
[ 24]
25
UTV Software Communications
January 31, 2012
India
450,000,000
597,000,000
The Walt Disney Company India
[ 25]
26
StudioEX
December 10, 2012
South Korea
Disney Interactive
[ 26]
27
Lucasfilm
December 21, 2012
USA
4,050,000,000
5,375,000,000
Walt Disney Studios
[ 27] [ 28]
28
Maker Studios
March 24, 2014
USA
500,000,000
644,000,000
Disney Digital Network
[ 29]
29
BAMTech
2016
USA
2,930,000,000
3,720,000,000
Disney Streaming
[ 30] [ 31] [ 32] [ 33]
30
Euro Disney SCA
June 19, 2017
France
760,000,000
945,000,000
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products
[ 34] [ 35]
31
21st Century Fox
March 20, 2019
USA
71,300,000,000
84,970,000,000
The Walt Disney Company
[ 36] [ 37]
32
Hulu (remaining 43% of shares)
April 16, 2019 (WarnerMedia 's 10% stake)
USA
1,430,000,000
1,704,000,000
Disney Streaming
[ 38]
December 1, 2023 (Comcast 's 33% stake)
USA
8,610,000,000
8,610,000,000
[ 39]
33
Epic Games
February 7, 2024 (9% equity stake)
USA
1,500,000,000
The Walt Disney Company
[ 40] [ 41]
Divestments
Acquirer
Target company
Date of sale
Price of sale
References
Young Broadcasting
KCAL-TV
May 14, 1996
385,000,000
[ 42]
Rural Press
Farm Progress
July 1, 1997
[ 43]
Advance Publications
Fairchild Publications
August 20, 1999
650,000,000
[ 44]
Andy Heyward Bain Capital Chase Capital Partners
DIC Entertainment
November 25, 2000
[ 45] [ 46]
The Weinstein Company
Dimension Films
2005
[ 47]
Citadel Broadcasting
ABC Radio Networks
June 12, 2007
[ 48]
Saban Brands
Power Rangers and entertainment assets
May 12, 2010
43,000,000
[ 49]
Filmyard Holdings
Miramax Films
December 3, 2010
663,000,000
[ 50] [ 51]
Kids II, Inc.
The Baby Einstein Company
October 14, 2013
[ 52]
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Avalanche Software
January 24, 2017
[ 53]
Sinclair Broadcast Group Entertainment Studios
Fox Sports Networks
August 22, 2019
10,600,000,000
[ 54]
Scopely
FoxNext Games
January 22, 2020
[ 55]
Banijay
Endemol Shine Group
3 July 2020
2,200,000,000
[ 56]
Gimbal, Inc.
TrueX
September 28, 2020
[ 57]
ViacomCBS
TeleColombia
November 23, 2021
[ 58] [ 59]
Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
KRDC
June 13, 2023
5,000,000
[ 60]
See also
References
^ "Disneyland Tabs $2.29 Per Capita; See Small Net First Yr" . Billboard . January 28, 1956. p. 69. Retrieved May 6, 2015 .
^ "Disneyland Draws 4,200,000; Parent Firm Buys More Stock" . Billboard . January 13, 1958. Retrieved May 6, 2015 .
^ Thomas, Bob (1994). Walt Disney - An American Original . p. 286.
^ Peltz, James F. (October 2, 1990). "The Wonderful World of Disney's Other Firm : Entertainment: Walt Disney created a separate company for his family. Retlaw Enterprises Inc. is now worth hundreds of millions" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved July 19, 2012 .
^ Berg, Eric N. (September 29, 1987). "Company News; Wrather Accepts $21-a-Share Offer" . New York Times . Retrieved August 27, 2015 .
^ "COMPANY NEWS; Disney Buys Stake" . New York Times . March 30, 1988. Retrieved August 27, 2015 .
^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (August 1, 1995). "The Media Business: The Merger; Walt Disney to Acquire Abc in $19 Billion Deal to Build a Giant for Entertainment" . The New York Times .
^ Gelsi, Steve. (August 25, 1999). Disney plays with Toysmart.com . Marketwatch.com.
^ Pelline, Jeff. "Disney to buy Starwave" . CNET .
^ Tomczak, Mitchell (March 14, 2020). "12 Walt Disney Company Acquisitions Worth over $114 Billion" . Mitten To Magic .
^ "Disney absorbs Infoseek" . money.cnn.com .
^ "Disney buys Fox Family" . CNN Money . July 23, 2001. Retrieved August 11, 2012 .
^ "Disney buys Muppets from Hensons" . iol.co.za .
^ Kawamoto, Dawn (April 19, 2005). "Disney scoops up Avalanche, founds new studio" . GameSpot . Archived from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2017 .
^ "Walt Disney Internet Group acquires Living Mobile" . Games Industry . November 8, 2005.
^ "Disney buys Pixar" . money.cnn.com .
^ Sinclair, Brendan (September 28, 2006). "Buena Vista Games to acquire Climax Racing" . gamespot.com . Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2012 .
^ "Disney buys game developer Junction Point" . Los Angeles Times . Bloomberg News. July 13, 2007. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2012 .
^ Marr, Merissa; Sanders, Peter (August 2, 2007). "Disney Buys Kids' Social-Network Site – WSJ.com" . Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2010 .
^ "Disney Interactive Studios Buys Chinese Gaming Studio Gamestar" . CBS News.com . Pearl Research. February 11, 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2012 .
^ "Disney Interactive Studios to Buy Wideload Games" . Entertainment Close-up . September 9, 2009. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2012 .
^ "Disney to buy Marvel for $4 billion" . money.cnn.com .
^ Schonfeld, Erick (2010-07-01). "Breaking: Tapulous Acquired By Disney" . TechCrunch . Retrieved 2019-09-12 .
^ Barnes, Brooks; Miller, Claire Cain (July 27, 2010). "Disney Purchases Playdom, a Social Game Start-Up" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-29. Retrieved 2010-09-27 .
^ Dore, Shalini (2012-02-01). "Disney buys out India producer UTV" . Variety . Retrieved 2022-07-04 .
^ Duryee, Tricia (December 10, 2012). "Disney Buys South Korean Game Developer Studio Ex for Push Into Asia" . All Things Digital . Archived from the original on January 16, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2024 .
^ "Disney buys Star Wars maker Lucasfilm from George Lucas" . bbc.com . October 31, 2012.
^ Schou, Solvej (December 21, 2012). "Mickey + 'Star Wars' = Disney completes Lucasfilm acquisition" . Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved December 22, 2012 .
^ Solsman, Joan E. "Disney buys YouTube network Maker Studios for $500M" . CNET .
^ "The Walt Disney Company Acquires Minority Stake in BAMTech" . The Walt Disney Company . August 9, 2016.
^ "The Walt Disney Company to Acquire Majority Ownership of BAMTech" . The Walt Disney Company . August 8, 2017.
^ Goldsmith, Jill (12 August 2021). "Disney Buys NHL's 10% Stake In BAMTech For $350 Million; MLB's 15% On The Table In 2022" . Deadline .
^ "SEC-Show" .
^ "The Walt Disney Company Takes Full Ownership of Disneyland Paris in Buyout" . June 13, 2017.
^ "Disneyland Paris now fully under Walt Disney Company control" . www.baynews9.com .
^ Szalai, Georg; Bond, Paul (March 20, 2019). "Disney Closes $71.3 Billion Fox Deal, Creating Global Content Powerhouse" . The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019 .
^ Schwartz, Matthew S. (20 March 2019). "Disney Officially Owns 21st Century Fox" . NPR.org .
^ Levy, Ari (April 15, 2019). "AT&T sells Hulu stake, valuing the video streaming company at $15 billion" . www.cnbc.com . Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019 .
^ Darcy, Oliver (2023-11-01). "Disney to acquire remaining stake in Hulu for $8.6 billion | CNN Business" . CNN . Retrieved 2023-11-14 .
^ Goldsmith, Jill (2024-02-07). "Disney Buys Stake In Epic Games, Sets Entertainment Partnership Around Fortnite" . Deadline . Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-07 .
^ Malik, Yuvraj (2024-02-08). "Disney's Epic deal shows sharp cut in Fortnite maker's valuation -The Information" . Reuters . Retrieved 2024-03-15 .
^ Young Broadcasting Buys KCAL-TV from Disney , The Wall Street Journal , May 14, 1996. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
^ "Australian Firm Buys Parent Of Prairie Farmer Magazine From Disney" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2014-08-23 .
^ Kuczinsky, Alex (August 20, 1999). "Merger Planned for 2 Giants of Fashion Publishing" . The New York Times . Retrieved 30 August 2014 .
^ Carl DiOrio (2000-09-18). "Bain backing buyout of DiC" . Variety . Retrieved 2016-01-27 .
^ Charles Lyons (2000-11-19). "DIC plays new toon" . Variety . Retrieved 2016-01-27 .
^ Mohr, Ian (September 10, 2006). "The Weinstein Co. / Dimension Films" . Variety . Retrieved September 30, 2017 .
^ "Disney and Citadel Announce Completion of ABC Radio Merger" Official Press Release. June 12, 2007
^ Bond, Paul (August 10, 2010). "Disney's Q3 boosted by TV operations profit; Power Rangers sale added $43 million to coffers" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 11, 2010 .
^ Mason, Ian Garrick (October 11, 2004). "When Harvey met Mickey" . New Statesman . UK. Retrieved January 11, 2007 .
^ Ryan Nakashima (December 5, 2010). "Disney completes $663M sale of Miramax" . Associated Press via Yahoo! News . Archived from the original on June 29, 2011.
^ License! Global (October 14, 2013). "Kids II Purchases Baby Einstein" . License! Global .
^ McAloon, Alissa (January 24, 2017). "Disney Infinity dev revived and re-opened by Warner Bros" . Gamasutra . Archived from the original on January 25, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2020 .
^ Littleton, Cynthia (May 3, 2019). "Sinclair Clinches Disney-Regional Sports Networks Deal, Byron Allen Joins as Partner" . Variety . Retrieved 2019-05-05 .
^ Hayes, Dade (22 January 2020). "Disney Sells FoxNext Games Los Angeles And Cold Iron Studios To Scopely" . Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 22 January 2020 .
^ "Sophie Turner Laing To Leave Endemol Shine Group As Banijay Group Completes $2.2BN Takeover" . Deadline Hollywood . July 3, 2020.
^ Weprin, Alex (September 28, 2020). "Disney Sells Ad Tech Firm TrueX To Marketing Data Company Gimbal" . The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020 .
^ "VIACOMCBS TO ACQUIRE MAJORITY INTEREST IN FOX TELECOLOMBIA & ESTUDIOS TELEMEXICO | ViacomCBS" . ViacomCBS . Retrieved October 28, 2021 .
^ "ViacomCBS Completes Acquisition Of Majority Interest In Fox TeleColombia & Estudios TeleMexico" . PR Newswire (Press release). Retrieved 2021-11-23 .
^ Keys, Matthew (2023-06-13). "Disney sells its final radio station for $5 million" . TheDesk.net . Retrieved 2023-12-11 .