Disney to buy "Star Wars" producer for $4.05 billion

Walt Disney Co said on Tuesday that it had agreed to buy film maker George Lucas's Lucasfilm Ltd and the "Star Wars" franchise for $4.05 billion in cash and stock.

Disney said there would be a new series of "Star Wars" feature films as part of the deal, with the first movie expected in 2015.

Lucas, a Hollywood icon known for exercising control over the most minute details of the fictional universe he created, will remain as a creative consultant.

Disney will pay about half the purchase price in cash and issue about 40 million shares at closing.

(Reporting by Himank Sharma in Bangalore and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Writing by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)