The proposed transaction, still needs regulatory approval, will give Disney the ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters (which will be overseen by Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter)
Under the proposed deal Disney will pay $30 in cash and about three-quarters of a Disney share for each share of Marvel. The total value of the Disney stock issued as merger consideration based on its trading value at that time is not less than 40% of the total merger consideration. Based on the closing price of Disney August 28, Disney will pay approximately $4 billion for Marvel Entertainment.
“We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation,” -Robert Iger, president and CEO of Disney.
“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.” – Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer.
First two things that came to my mind when I heard the news:
#1 In my mind the one thing Marvel always had over DC was that they were not owned by some outside mega corporation, now they are owned by the biggest media company in the world. Does that give DC and Warner Brothers who have been partners since the 60′s an upper hand?
#2 Two of the best rides in Florida (the capital of theme parks) are Island of Adventure’s “Hulk” and “Spider-Man”. What is going to happen to those rides and the theme park itself? I am guessing that whatever deals Universal and Marvel made regarding the licensing of Marvel characters will remain in tact, but you can’t help wonder will there be a new Marvel/Disney mashup park coming soon? Disney has the land to do it….
Sep 02, 2009 @ 06:49:10
I knew you’d have to come out of vacation for this!
Good point about the theme parks. Although, I haven’t been to Disney in almost 10 years and Universal in close to 15 I can’t even fathom what they’ve become. Animal Kingdom was brand-spanking new when I went.
It’ll be interesting to see how they compromise and agree on issues with the roller coasters being just one example.
Thanks this post has made me more jealous of riding roller coasters and now I can’t think about much but going to Busch Gardens!
Sep 09, 2009 @ 10:08:23
I still haven’t been to Animal Kingdom…how sad is that! The last theme park I went to was Six Flags Over Georgia. I don’t even know how many times I visited that park while living in the ATL. My favorite ride from any theme park is their Superman ride. My brother and I sat in a line over an hour long 3 times in one day…it is that good!
It will be interesting to see how the whole Marvel/Disney thing plays out…I don’t think it will be a bad thing (Warner Bros has owned DC 4-ever). I just think it took a lot of people by surprise (I know I was shocked).