http://money.canoe.ca/News/Sectors/Ente ... 96-ap.html

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Walt Disney Co. says it is acquiring Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing characters like Iron Man and Spider-Man into the Disney family.

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters.

Disney said Monday that Marvel shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share they own.

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

HOYL FUCK NUGGETS.

I just sold a bunch of Marvel stock at $40 a month ago. I hope this isn't too much of bad timing for me.

THIS SOUNDS HORRIBLE. DISNEY IS SHIT.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/busin ... nted=print

The Walt Disney Company said Monday that it would buy the comic book giant Marvel Entertainment for about $4 billion.

Under the terms of the deal, Marvel shareholders will receive a $30 a share in cash plus about 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which was valued at $50 a share.

With the acquisition, Disney will acquire more than 5,000 Marvel characters.

“We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation,” the chief executive of Disney, Robert A. Iger, said in a statement.

Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s chief executive, said: “Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses. This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney’s tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world.”

Mr. Perlmutter will oversee the Marvel properties, and will work directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel’s properties.

Could Mephisto be involved?

THIS FUCKING SUCKS.

Fuck, if Disney decides that the publishing part of Marvel is a waste of time, that could kill the comic book industry.

This could break the internet in half!

Wow! I'd say this is the beginning of the end of Marvel comics. Not Marvel Entertainment as a whole, but monthly comics? Not long for this world, based on Disney's track record on such things.

or, it could mean more Disney comics...

I seriously doubt if this is the end of Marvel comics...Disney is a smart company and I'm sure they'll see the benefit of Marvel's usual business...

I want to see a remake of Snow White as MJ saying the "Face it Tiger, You just hit the Jackpot" line.

And, of course, Wolverine with Mickey ears.

There's no reason that this couldn't be a parallel to the Time-Warner and DC relationship.

Marvel is such a purveyor of original content and characters, that it has always made business sense for a giant media company to either own them or have an extensive alliance with them.

This is a sign, to me, that Marvel very much got its house in order by lining up all the great movies. Disney wants to fund that and have exclusive distribution rights.

I hope that Disney allows the creative environment to flourish, but tightens the ship a little bit on on some of the excesses at Marvel.

The management at Marvel has been very myopic and short term, with all the dilution of the intellectual property, and the excessive crossover events. The company has been run in a way that says "we have to generate mega sales." It has not been run in a way that says "we have these priceless characters, and we need to build the value of that long term."

My thoughts exactly! Between Iron Man and Wolverine, Marvel has owned a good portion of the last couple of summers...besides that, Disney already owns some rights to several of Marvel's older animated projects...

I agree with this more-or-less.

I don't disagree, but think this is pie in the sky thinking. I don't like everything Marvel has done, but I think Disney will stifle creativity instead of allowing it to flourish. I hope I'm wrong. I tend to think T-W hinders DC more than it helps in many ways. It's that corporate feeling, you know? Marvel has always felt a tad more organic to me. I'm afraid they will lose that.

Hm. Can't imagine Ed Brubaker working for Disney. Would Disney publish Kick Ass? Etc.

Reposting from another thread:
I don't think it will make Marvel G rated... I do think they'll align with the films more in the books and cull the lower selling books. Maybe even do away with monthly books altogether if they can find a better way to market the product (characters).

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-in ... le1270467/

The Walt Disney Co. (DIS-N26.42-0.42-1.56%) said Monday it is buying Marvel Entertainment Inc. (MVL-N48.8510.2026.39%) for $4-billion (U.S.) in cash and stock, bringing characters like 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 theatres 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,” Mr. 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 per cent, to $48.82 shortly after the market opened. Disney shares fell 47 cents, or 1.8 per cent, 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.

I really don't see this as a bad thing. Disney isn't likely to exert major control over the editorial content. Maybe pull back on strong PG-13 content, but nothing major. Disney may not be creative giants anymore, but there are few that can match them in marketing and merch muscle. From my vantage point, this is a win/win for both companies. Disney gets a huge number of top intellectual properties, and Marvel gets the corporate backing to do a much better job of making themselves essential childhood material.

I don't think Disney will put the clamps on "adult" material, but I do think they will want a more organized, systematic lineup that is appropriate for children and teens.

Right now, it's a bit inscrutable how a kid could get into the hobby (from a parent's perspective). I can't turn my kids loose in any particular arena except "Marvel Adventures."

I know -- the debate always rages as to whether this is necessary. I come down firmly on the side that a constant pipeline of new readership is necessary to sustain the business.