SAY WHAT?!?! - Disney buys Marvel

I was a little caught off guard this morning when I logged into Facebook to see the many status updates saying Disney bought Marvel Entertainment. I mozied on over to Google News and read about the $4 Billion deal.

Tech Crunch reported:

The Walt Disney Company has agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment in a stock and cash transaction, the companies announced this morning. Under the terms of the agreement and based on last week’s closing price of Disney, Marvel shareholders would receive a total of $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own.

Based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, August 28, the total transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.

Under the deal, which has been approved by the boards of both companies, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its portfolio of over 5,000 Marvel characters. That portfolio includes many familiar names like Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor.

As shocking as the news is (or was an hour ago), it seems like a likely pairing. Disney has moved to acquire more popular brands in the past few years which are geared towards the young not-yet-pubescent male, which is a huge market for video games and action figures.

The last move I can remember that payed off very well for Disney was the acquisition of Power Rangers from Saban Entertainment. The company has managed to keep the brand alive, and has a strong fan base, which includes my 10 year old nephew.

I for one think this may lead to some interesting developments in the Marvel Universe. I expect we will see more movies and TV shows sprouting out of Disney now that the deal is sealed. I for one hope to see another Spider-Man movie to make up for the utter failure of a story line provided by the last one.