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.
Acquired company | Date | Country | Price (US$) | Price Adjusted for Inflation (US$) | Parent/Merged With | References |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Disneyland, Inc. | 1957 (64% controlling stake) | ![]() |
562,500 | 6,000,000 | Disney Parks, Experiences and Products | [1] |
1960 (remaining shares) | ![]() |
7,500,000 | 74,000,000 | [2][3] | ||
WED Enterprises (park designing and engineering division) | 1965 | ![]() |
||||
Retlaw Enterprises (parks transportation division) | 1982 | ![]() |
42,600,000 | 129,000,000 | [4] | |
Wrather Corporation | 1987 (50% share) | ![]() |
[5] | |||
1988 (Remaining 50%) | ![]() |
[6] | ||||
Capital Cities/ABC Inc. | February 9, 1996 | ![]() |
19,000,000,000 | 35,452,000,000 | Disney General Entertainment Content | [7] |
Toysmart | August 1996 | ![]() |
Disney Interactive | [8] | ||
Starwave | April 30, 1998 | ![]() |
400,000,000 | 718,000,000 | Go.com | [9] |
Infoseek | July 12, 1999 | ![]() |
1,770,000,000 | 3,109,000,000 | [10][11] | |
Fox Family Worldwide Saban Entertainment |
October 24, 2001 | ![]() |
2,900,000,000 | 4,793,000,000 | ABC Family Worldwide Buena Vista Studios Entertainment |
[12] |
The Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House properties | February 17, 2004 | ![]() |
75,000,000 | 116,000,000 | The Muppets Studio | [13] |
Avalanche Software | April 19, 2005 | ![]() |
Disney Interactive Studios | [14] | ||
Pixar | May 5, 2006 | ![]() |
7,400,000,000 | 10,742,000,000 | Walt Disney Studios | [15] |
Climax Racing | September 2006 | ![]() |
Disney Interactive Studios | [16] | ||
Junction Point Studios | February 8, 2007 | ![]() |
[17] | |||
New Horizon Interactive | August 2007 | ![]() |
350,000,000 | 477,000,000 | [18] | |
GameStar | February 2009 | ![]() |
[19] | |||
Wideload Games | September 8, 2009 | ![]() |
[20] | |||
Marvel Entertainment | December 31, 2009 | ![]() |
4,400,000,000 | 6,002,000,000 | The Walt Disney Company | [21] |
Tapulous | July 1, 2010 | ![]() |
Disney Mobile | [22] | ||
Playdom | July 27, 2010 | ![]() |
563,000,000 | 718,000,000 | Disney Interactive | [23] |
UTV Software Communications | January 31, 2012 | ![]() |
450,000,000 | 574,000,000 | The Walt Disney Company India | [24] |
Lucasfilm | December 21, 2012 | ![]() |
4,050,000,000 | 5,162,000,000 | Walt Disney Studios | [25][26] |
Maker Studios | March 24, 2014 | ![]() |
500,000,000 | 618,000,000 | Disney Digital Network | [27] |
BAMTech | 2016 | ![]() |
2,930,000,000 | 3,573,000,000 | Disney Streaming | [28][29][30][31] |
Euro Disney SCA | June 19, 2017 | ![]() |
760,000,000 | 907,000,000 | Disney Parks, Experiences and Products | [32][33] |
21st Century Fox | March 20, 2019 | ![]() |
71,300,000,000 | 81,610,000,000 | The Walt Disney Company | [34][35] |
Acquirer | Target company | Date of sale | Price of sale | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
Young Broadcasting | KCAL-TV | May 14, 1996 | ||
Andy Heyward Bain Capital Chase Capital Partners |
DIC Entertainment | November 25, 2000 | [36][37] | |
The Weinstein Company | Dimension Films | 2005 | [38] | |
Saban Brands | Power Rangers and entertainment assets | May 12, 2010 | ||
Filmyard Holdings | Miramax Films | December 3, 2010 | 663,000,000 | [39][40] |
Kids II, Inc. | The Baby Einstein Company | October 14, 2013 | ||
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | Avalanche Software | January 24, 2017 | [41] | |
Sinclair Broadcast Group/Entertainment Studios | Fox Sports Networks | August 22, 2019 | 10,600,000,000 | [42] |
Scopely | FoxNext Games | January 22, 2020 | [43] | |
Banijay | Endemol Shine Group | 3 July 2020 | 2,200,000,000 | [44] |
Gimbal, Inc. | TrueX | September 28, 2020 | [45] | |
ViacomCBS (now known as Paramount Global) | TeleColombia | November 23, 2021 | [46][47] |