Disney to Acquire Marvel Comic Book Empire for $4 Billion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 31, 2009 - 7:19am.

Burbank, Calif. - Disney (NYSE: DIS) announced on Monday that it will acquire comic book empire Marvel Entertainment, which counts a portfolio of over 5,000 characters, including Spider-Man and the X-Men, in a stock and cash deal valued at $4 billion. "This transaction combines Marvels strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney's creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories," said Disney president and CEO Robert A. Iger.

"We believe that adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation."

Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter will oversee the Marvel properties and work to integrate them into Disney's global lines of business.

http://snipurl.com/ri7tl (NYT)

http://www.marvel.com

Published in DMW Daily, August 31, 2009

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Comments

Wow. An interesting deal

Submitted by bookmarking (not verified) on September 1, 2009 - 5:07pm.

Wow. An interesting deal. Disney currently is the biggest name in term of cartoons. By acquiring Marvel, they definitely stay on top for a while or maybe forever. That's not bad, I mean.

Disney Buys Marvel headlines

Submitted by anonymous (not verified) on September 1, 2009 - 9:18pm.

Disney Buys Marvel headlines are now known to be the truth, as they have put up $4 Billion to acquire Marvel Comics and other divisions like Marvel Entertainment, the TV and cinema wing, which has been wildly successful. Disney films and Marvel films sell incredibly well – so the business move makes sense, and it's doubtful that Spiderman will battle a singing rabbit. In the last few years, entertainment revenues have slipped, especially in the face of recession. So when hard money loans are put up by Disney as Disney buys Marvel – rest easy, Marvel's integrity won't suffer.