Disney to acquire Marvel for $4 billion

[webbydude]

I wasn't quite sure where to post this, so if this is in error please repost in the proper forum please.

LOS ANGELES – 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.

Disney to acquire Marvel for $4 billion - Yahoo! News

Who wudda thunk it? I wonder if there's going to be a Donald Duck/X-Men team-up.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

That strikes me as kind of funny, for just those reasons. I wonder what will happen to "Dark Reign"

I moved it to Other Programming Networks; it makes sense there; although it could also go to Chit Chat.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Hmm, whats going to happen the all the Marvel Comics things at Universal Studios Florida themepark.

I am sure Disney wouldnt want to be sending tourists to their competition.

 

[webbydude]

Hmm, whats going to happen the all the Marvel Comics things at Universal Studios Florida themepark.

I am sure Disney wouldnt want to be sending tourists to their competition.

Yeah, I thought about that to. Perhaps Marvel's contract with Universal Studios is pretty near to ending.

Yet another odd consideration: Marvel utilizes different studios for it's live-action movies. I wonder if EVERYTHING is going to be shifted to Touchstone and Pixar (how cool would that be to see a CGI styled "Avengers" flick, ala "Toy Story")?

 

[televisionarchives]

The contract for the California Universal Park expired already. Universal has the Simpsons and they could do some fun stuff with Islands of Adverture if they wanted to build Springfield over in Island. But my hunch is they already have something planned. Both Parks are great but my boys don't like Disney as much as Universal.

 

[Peter Parker]

Ordinarily an acquisition would not invalidate existing contracts for movies or other merchandising. I would however expect that in the long run movies featuring Marvel characters will be produced by Disney.

 

[TNGTony]

Another case of diversity slowly being gobbled up by the mega-giants. Mickey Mouse just stepped on the Spiderman and crushed the life out of him.

 

[KAB]

Is it just me, or does 4 Billion seem REAL cheap for what they are getting??

 

[Peter Parker]

The $4 billion part is no doubt a sign of the economy. But Marvel has been looking for the right entertainment company to team with----and some of this is stock deal. Remember that the current Marvel Entertainment was actually gobbled up by ToyBiz who changed their name when Marvel went through bankruptcy.

I am not sure that Disney will crush the life out of Spiderman. This is not the same Disney that Walt headed up and they may well manage it separately. besides Spidey has beaten tougher foes before.

 

[SamCdbs]

Is it just me, or does 4 Billion seem REAL cheap for what they are getting??

Not to me.

Comic books have been in a decline for many decades. Modern kids have way too many other options. Its a very old technology. And Marvel has always been the #2 comic book company. The classic and best known characters are over at DC (Batman, Superman, etc).

And, as other have posted, the existing movie and theme park liscensing deals will have to be honored. My guess relative to the movies is that these are generational. Disney could not make a new Spiderman movie until all of the current actors are so old that they could not reasonabably appear in it. These have to be discounted.

So we are left with movies from characters not done yet, and the theme parks. Marvel characters will probably show up at the Disney Stuido park. They certainly do not fit in at the Magic Kingdom. Does a roller coaster being the "Super Spidey Ride" mean much more than it being "Space Mountain"?

 

[MikeD-C05]

I loved D.C. comics and collected them but when they went up to $1.25 a copy back in the 80s, I stopped collecting . God knows what price they are selling at now.

 

[webbydude]

Not to me.

Comic books have been in a decline for many decades. Modern kids have way too many other options. Its a very old technology. And Marvel has always been the #2 comic book company. The classic and best known characters are over at DC (Batman, Superman, etc).

And, as other have posted, the existing movie and theme park liscensing deals will have to be honored. My guess relative to the movies is that these are generational. Disney could not make a new Spiderman movie until all of the current actors are so old that they could not reasonabably appear in it. These have to be discounted.

So we are left with movies from characters not done yet, and the theme parks. Marvel characters will probably show up at the Disney Stuido park. They certainly do not fit in at the Magic Kingdom. Does a roller coaster being the "Super Spidey Ride" mean much more than it being "Space Mountain"?

How do you figure? A few years after it emerged, Marvel has consistently been the number 1 comic book company.

IGN: July 2009 Sales Figures Revealed

Granted, sales are on the decline. But a lot of that can be contributed to the speculator-fueled market of the early to late 90's (Death of Superman...tie-ins to the X-men movie....etc) that inflated and THEN over-saturated things to the point of bankruptcy for some of the publishers.

I hold the opinion that any studio can reboot just about any franchise, as long as it's put together correctly (I'm looking right the "Hulk" and "Bond" reboots)

 

[webbydude]

I loved D.C. comics and collected them but when they went up to $1.25 a copy back in the 80s, I stopped collecting . God knows what price they are selling at now.

LOL!! I hear ya

I think my "breaking point" was the $1.50 mark. Seemed a lot easier and convenient to wait for whatever was decent to be collected into trade paperback/hardcover format. Not to mention I didn't have to feel compelled to mylar, backing board, and long-box those things. Nothing worse than having uber-sized baseball card collections hogging up a good portion of the basement or, when I was single, the spare bedroom.

 

[dmendenjr]

I loved D.C. comics and collected them but when they went up to $1.25 a copy back in the 80s, I stopped collecting . God knows what price they are selling at now.

I was the same way with the Marvel comics. Could justify a buck on a very short 32 page book; but that extra quarter pushed things too far.

The only thing is, if everything marvel is going to move to touchstone/miramax... does that mean that we are going to see Ben Stiller in all future marvel movies?

The scarier though is what ugly children the House of Mouse and the House of Lee will spawn! (dare I say it - a "Hannah Montana" / "Dazzler" concert tour?)

 

[webbydude]

Yet another thought. Disney used to publish it's own characters under the Gladstone imprint. And it failed miserably. I have to wonder if the ONLY reason for Disney to purchase Marvel was because of it's lucrative movie and television deals; and consequently, they'll shut down the comic operations.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Comics may go the way the newspapers are heading. It is tech from the 20th century. The people that read these are all older and more cost conscious and the newer kids have video games , ipods, psps , playstations 2 & 3, X-boxs etc. I still have a couple of boxes of them in plastic in my closet , some going back to the late 60s , when I first started reading and collecting. My wife is always trying to get me to get rid of them. Someday I might see what I can get for them.

 

[bicker]

Hmm, whats going to happen the all the Marvel Comics things at Universal Studios Florida themepark. I am sure Disney wouldnt want to be sending tourists to their competition.

Yeah, I thought about that to. Perhaps Marvel's contract with Universal Studios is pretty near to ending.

I believe that Universal Studios Orlando (specifically) has two arrangements with Marvel. What I know, pretty-much for sure, is that they have a perpetual contract covering Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk. Essentially, they can use the characters from those two assets in perpetuity, as long as the corresponding attractions are open. In return Marvel gets a cut of the gate. (Answering the last bit in Scott's message... this means that Universal would be paying Disney, so Disney wouldn't mind so much having their guests go to Universal once they're getting a cut of the admission paid there. ) The second arrangement I'm not quite as confident about, but it covers the general use of Marvel characters in their Marvel Comics attraction area. I believe, but am not sure, that that is a term agreement, and that it is not close to expiring. If that is the case, nothing about this acquisition (can or) will change the terms of that agreement, except perhaps making it a bit less likely that it will be renewed.

However, even saying that, it is not assured that that arrangement will not be renewed. Disney could see a benefit to, essentially, promoting "their" characters at another popular vacation destination, and earning money from tourists visiting Universal Studios. I suspect that such renewal will depend on the extent to which Disney plans to make use of those characters through new attractions in their own parks. Also note that this deal might acutally prompt Universal to terminate their use of (what would be, at that point, their competitor) Disney's characters, for the obvious reasons: They wouldn't want to promote Disney characters, or send money to Disney.

Yet another odd consideration: Marvel utilizes different studios for it's live-action movies. I wonder if EVERYTHING is going to be shifted to Touchstone and Pixar (how cool would that be to see a CGI styled "Avengers" flick, ala "Toy Story")?

There is no question that this deal offers a lot to Marvel, in the form of a strong, stable, consistent distribution channel, not only for their feature films, but also for merchandising. I wonder, also, if there are synergies that can be realized from bringing the comics in-house, associated in some way with Hyperion Books. (How convenient is it that Disney's publishing assets are under the Hyperion label, and Hyperion is the name of some Marvel Comics characters.)

 

[bicker]

Another case of diversity slowly being gobbled up by the mega-giants. Mickey Mouse just stepped on the Spiderman and crushed the life out of him.

Or rather, breathed new life into him. Marvel Entertainment already was a giant, and was working very hard to be a successful player in the mainstream marketplace. The Spiderman series of films and the Spiderman theme park attraction are clear indicators of that. There can be no allusions that Marvel was not already working really hard to achieve what they are going to be able to achieve more simply under the Disney umbrella. All this acquisition does is make it more likely that Marvel will achieve its long-standing objectives, more quickly.

There is no better indication of the positive attributes of this marriage than the fact that it was considered by Stan Lee to be a "pleasant" surprise.

 

[Peter Parker]

Stan Lee was already working with Disney so his blessing is not really unexpected.

 

[FreddyvsJasonvsAsh]

My avatar says it all...lol