http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090831/ap_on_bi_ge/us_disney_marvel_entertainment LOS ANGELES – The Walt Disney Co. said Monday it is buying Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing such characters 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. "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 last made a big purchase in 2006 when it acquired Pixar Animation Studios Inc., the creator of the "Toy Story" franchise, for $7.4 billion in stock. Disney CEO Robert Iger said the latest 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. Marvel earned a net profit of $206 million last fiscal year, up 47 percent from a year earlier, on revenue of $676 million, as it took movie production in house instead of just cutting licensing deals.
Finally! From High School Musical + Marvel Comics, we get to see the entire production of this: Spoiler Enough said.
As someone who heads to DisneyWorld quite a bit, I'm excited about this. I'm guessing this will ULTIMATELY lead to Marvel attractions at Disney's Studios theme park. I do not know how long Universal Studio's Islands Of Adventure park has a hold of Marvel characters...but I'm guessing that will be short-lived.
A buddy here had a good idea: MARVEL vs. DISNEY coming soon by CAPCOM... for PS3 and Wii... Chip&Dale SUPER COMBO!
Just last year I thought Marvel was finally heading in the right direction by taking over full production of their own movies like Iron Man and The Hulk. Now this makes me wonder is Disney going to waterdown the movies to appeal to more kids? Sorry but if anything is to be learned from DK and Ironman, its that the audience for this genre is older more mature people who grew up reading comic books not the little kids with a few action figures in their toy collection.
I was thinking the same thing, they are making Tron : Legacy so we'll see how that does. I hope they dont take the films in the wrong direction.
I think Disney did a pretty good job with Pirates. Before they became one with Pixar, they gave them the ability to do as they wish. I think Disney, since the Pixar deal, is a different entity than the one that people are afraid will ruin Marvel characters and storylines. I think the people in charge now are likely to keep integrity of those products by trusting them with people that know them.
People had the same fear with DC being swallowed by Warner Bros. I think a big issue for Marvel would've been finding financing for their movies now that investment has dried up a bit. Sure there are hits, but with a couple of blockbuster duds and they're totally boned.
Zac Efron to replace Tobey Mcguire as Peter Parker, vanessa hudgens to replace Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane confirmed. Movie soundtrack to be performed by the Jonas Brothers. Title of movie has changed to Spiderman 4, The Musical.
