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Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando can kiss the Spidey coaster goodbye.
File it under "WHOA!"
The Associated Press is reporting that Walt Disney Co. has announced plans to acquire Marvel Entertainment Inc for $4 billion dollars. Here's the scoop from the AP
LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Co. said Monday it is acquiring Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion 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 favorites such as the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, were co-created by the comic book legend Stan Lee.
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 $10.09, or 26 percent, to $48.74 in trading before the market opened. Disney shares fell 70 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $26.14.
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.
UPDATED: According to The Hollywood Reporter Disney aims to honor pre-existing film licensing and distribution deals with Fox ('X-Men', 'Fantastic Four', 'Daredevil'), Sony ('Spider-Man'), Paramount (the near-future Marvel film slate) and Lionsgate ('Punisher', DTV animated works), but will look to eventually bring everything in house.
"It clearly would be in our best interest if we ended up as the sole distributor," said Bob Iger, CEO of Disney. "When you distribute your own films, the opportunity is even better."
And then there is this bit of excitment:
Asked about potential Pixar-Marvel synergies, Iger said Disney executives have had some conversations internally, and Pixar creative guru John Lasseter has met with Marvel folks as well. "The group got pretty excited pretty fast," Iger said, adding he expects exciting collaboration opportunities. "Sparks will fly," he said.
What do you think Maniacs? Is this good for Disney? Bad for Marvel? The Seventh Sign of the Apocalypse? Post your comments below...
Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando can kiss the Spidey coaster goodbye.
OH THE possibilities are endless...
The Black Cat now must have hearts floating around her head whenever she talks to Spider-Man...
marvel Team-up Howard the Duck meets Donald Duck...Snow White meets the White Queen...Hecules vs. hercules!
Will they be featured in the theme parks cause if not I don't care.
Can you people imagine how awesome a new Kingdom Hearts game will be with Marvel characters? Awesomeness!
AWESOME!! Wolverine vs. Mickey! The fight of the century, just what I've been waiting for all my life!
This could be good or bad for marvel. If Disney tries to screw around with the storylines that marvel has spent years putting together marvel could fall from the top 3 MARVEL DC IMAGE totem pole. We will have to wait and see what happens. One thing for sure is that Disney will be in the black for years thanks to Iron man 2 which comes out sometime next year. And lets not forget about spiderman 4, 5, and 6. All that revenue will go to them.
That Spider-Man ride was the best one in the park. If Disney is half as smart as they think they are they'll move that ride to Disney Studios theme park ASAP
Ahhh, my one chance to have a proper scoop thwarted by my procrastination. I got this news before the market opened, but didn't send it in right away. Oh well, life goes on. As far as the deal, as long as Disney don't mess with the editorial and creative decisions then this could be good news. Marvel should have access to Disney's cash and formidable distribution network.
Very excited for this move by Disney. The marketing arm of Disney alone makes the purchase worthwhile for Marvel. Having Marvel and Pixar under the same roof... what an accomplishment. This is exactly why i was pumped when Robert Iger took over Disney. The guy knows how to make the right deals and knows what the "Disney" brand is all about. Awesome move. Oh, and Calibur454, I'm not sure this deal will affect Iron Man 2 or any upcoming Marvel films where distirbution partnerships had already been created. Paramount is releasing Iron Man 2. While Disney owns Marvel now, a lions share of the money will still go to the companies releasing these films. Once they'ev gone beyond the current slate of films and distribution deals, then Disney will be able to market and distribute on its own. Then the money get's really huge.
MEGA NEWS!!!!
DISNEY JUST BOUGHT MARVEL COMICS!!!!!!!
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/business&id=6991176
Oh.....
Yeah, what he said.
I don't even know what kind of major, major , MAJOR game changer this is gonna be.
Tony Stark is gonna be dating Snow White, that's for damn sure.