Disney buying Marvel Comics

[Rico]

Well, this was a bit surprising.  Have to see how it all shakes out.

The Walt Disney Co. said Monday that it plans to buy Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing characters such as Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of Mickey Mouse and WALL-E.

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters. Many of them, including the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, were co-created by the comic book legend Stan Lee.

Analyst David Joyce of Miller Tabak & Co. said the acquisition will help Disney appeal to young men who have flocked to theaters to see Marvel's superhero fare in recent years. That contrasts with Disney's recent successes among young women with such fare as "Hannah Montana" and the Jonas Brothers.
The Incredible Hulk, another Marvel character, looms over people at the Comic-Con 2008 in San Diego.
Enlarge Denis Poroy/AP

"It helps Disney add exposure to a young male demographic it had sort of lost some balance with," Joyce said, noting the $4 billion offer was at "full price."

Disney said Marvel shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash, plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share they own. That values each Marvel share at $50 based on Friday's closing stock prices.

Marvel shares jumped $10.17, or 26 percent, to $48.82 shortly after the market opened. Disney shares fell 47 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $26.37.

Disney said the boards of both companies have approved the transaction, but it will require an antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.

Disney CEO Robert Iger said the acquisition combines Marvel's "strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters" with Disney's "unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties" and ability to maximize value across multiple platforms and territories.

source:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112402912&sc=fb&cc=fp

[Bromptonboy]

Wow!  That is news.  Thankfully the Eisner days of alienating the artistic talent are behind us.

[Ktrek]

I'm kind of confused here. Does this mean that Disney owns all of Marvel, including the comics? Or just the rights to use the characters for film development in cartoons and live action? Or both?

Kevin

[Rico]

I'm kind of confused here. Does this mean that Disney owns all of Marvel, including the comics? Or just the rights to use the characters for film development in cartoons and live action? Or both?

Kevin

I'm sure all the lawyers will work that out, but here's a bit of an educated guess.  If this goes through, my guess is Disney will own Marvel, which means they own the comics, the characters, the whole enchilada.  But, I do think if Disney is smart they will let Marvel still be it's own entity, keep the name, etc.  As a long time Marvel fan I hope they don't go sticking their hands in things they don't understand.  At least not yet.

[Ktrek]

I'm sure all the lawyers will work that out, but here's a bit of an educated guess.  If this goes through, my guess is Disney will own Marvel, which means they own the comics, the characters, the whole enchilada.  But, I do think if Disney is smart they will let Marvel still be it's own entity, keep the name, etc.  As a long time Marvel fan I hope they don't go sticking their hands in things they don't understand.  At least not yet.

Yea...that would be kind of worrisome. Funny how when I was a kid I was a huge Marvel fan and thought they had the better characters but today I prefer DC characters. Not that I don't like Marvel characters I just like DC better. I do hope Disney does right by them though. They have too much history.

Kevin

[Bryancd]

25% pop in the Marvell stock I own for clients from before the success of Ironman. GREAT inestment, can't say I have an opinion about here future, but I also own Disney shares and think they will do well with the franchise.

[Rico]

Funny thing is Bryan, I used to have both Disney and Marvel stock a few years back.  Should have kept it.

[Bryancd]

Yeah, after X-Men I thought about buying it. When the pre-Ironman hype started I did sart buying. Disney I started buying after they bought PIXAR.

[Ronzo]

Next on the Disney channel:

The Mighty Thor Club!!

Who's the leader of the club
That's made for you and me
M-I-G-H-T-Y T-H-O-R.........
I know one letter off.
RONZO :roflmao

[Rico]

Looks like Disney will own it all - characters, movie rights, etc. just like I thought:

Walt Disney Company is purchasing Marvel Entertainment, which includes the film studio Marvel Studios, for $4 billion in cash and stocks. Under the terms of the deal — and upon approval by shareholders at Marvel — Disney would acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters...

[sheldor]

Coming in 2010 - The Hulketeers !!

[X]

I think that this will be a great move for marvel. When DC was bought by Warner Bros. they invested more into the products and even ran some comics at a loss to keep the well full.

I know that marvel was trying to get it's own movie house off the ground, but with the various houses under the disney banner and the proven talents behind them, I think it could benefit the Marvel characters.

I also think that for an entity that went through several bankruptcies in the previous decades, cashing out at 4 billion seems to be a great move for those that rode with them for this long. 

[ChadH]

I really liked "The Incredibles". Maybe we'll be seeing some Pixar animated Marvel superheroes movies in the next few years. That could be a very good thing for the fans.

[Dangelus]

Now we have that Spidey / Mickey Mouse crossover we have always wanted!

[Rico]

Scott over at Extralife has a great comic up today that he did about this.  Make sure to visit his site:  http://www.myextralife.com/