According to the press release, ILM is a gun for hire and will stay such. They will operate independently of Disney, Disney will just take a bit off the top as their reward for flying the Disney banner. This doesn't mean Disney won't use them, it just means that there will be less control over them. I'm presuming Skywalker Sound will be run the same way.
As for his 4 bln cushion, remember half is cash, half is stock. George has a vested interest now (to the tune of 40,000,000 shares) in how Disney performs over all. Given the 2.6% rise in stock post purchase of Lucasfilm, I think it'll do rather well. Not to leave out, Disney's dividend (while only 1.2%) means that George will reap at least 24 million off the top of his investment every year no matter what. Just think if Disney's stock splits or the dividend goes up. He's set for retirement.
And lastly, he's right. Disney can bring all the ad hoc licenses that have been loaned and pissed away to idiots like Del Rey and other vendors and bring them all in house, and get better distribution for them.
