Burbank, California-based Disney said in a securities filing on Thursday that Iger was granted 932,996 restricted shares, some related to performance, that will vest over the next four years. He will get a 20 percent raise, to $3 million, beginning in January and $500,000 will be added to that salary when the deal closes.

Iger is also staying on as CEO through 2021. Once the deal is complete, his target annual bonus is $20 million and he will be eligible for $25 million in stock grants a year., the filing said.

Disney said Thursday it would buy the operations from Fox for $52 billion and assume $13.7 billion of debt. The two sides have talked on and off this fall, CNBC has reported. Fox will retain its news, business news, sports and broadcast operations in the transaction and shareholders will have 25 percent of the new Disney.

Earlier on Thursday, Disney emphasized the importance of keeping Iger on during the transition even though he had planned to step down in mid-2019. Instead "extending his tenure is in the best interests of our company and our shareholders," the company said.