The Seeker Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 [bigger]Disney to buy Marvel in $4bn deal[/bigger] [smaller]BBC News, Monday, 31 August 2009[/smaller] Entertainment giant Walt Disney is to buy Marvel Entertainment in a shares and cash deal valued at $4bn (£2.5bn). The deal means Disney will take over ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters, such as Spider-Man and the X-Men. Marvel shareholders will get $30 per share in cash plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share owned. The boards of Disney and Marvel have both approved the deal, which now needs the backing of Marvel shareholders and competition authorities. Marvel shares were ahead $10.17, or 26%, to $48.82 shortly after the market opened. Disney shares fell 47 cents, or 1.8%, to $26.37. 'Great assets' "We believe that adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation," Disney president and chief executive Robert Iger said. "We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney." Other Marvel's characters include Captain America, the Fantastic Four and Thor. "Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses," said Marvel chief executive Ike Perlmutter. "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," he added. 'Good deal' Arvind Bhatia, an analyst at Sterne, Agee and Leach, said that the deal appeared to be a "win-win situation for both companies". "They [Marvel shareholders] are getting a good deal in my opinion. The CEO of the company, Isaac Perlmutter, is also the largest shareholder of the company. "From that standpoint, we think the chances of this deal going through are pretty high." Last month, Walt Disney reported a fall in profits of more than a quarter as the downturn hit revenue at its film and theme park divisions. Net profit between April and June came in at $954m (£579m), down 26% on the $1.28bn the entertainment giant made in the same period last year. Revenues of $8.6bn were down 7% from the $9.2bn recorded a year before. This sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levis Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 I saw the names together and (uselessly) hoped it was the other way around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted August 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 That'd be pretty cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLizard Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Evil frigging empire, Disney. (But I love Disneyland, Disney World, and pretty much all their animated movies. I'm a whore.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Joe Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 I just hope they don't go throwin' a freakin' cape on Mickey and try to sell him as the new Mighty Mouse. While we're on the Disney subject...in honor of Sophie's 5th birthday my son is taking his family to Disney World at the end of September. I've given Sophie the assignment of finding out why Pluto does not speak. It ticks me off that all the other animals can speak, even that dizzy cow Clarabelle. I mean, what's with that? Georgia (the 2 1/2 year old says, "But Pop Pop Pluto's a dog." I tell her, "So is Goofy...he talks". She looks at me like "why do you have to be such a fool?" Sophie and Georgia absolutely own me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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