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Post by Nutzkie on Aug 31, 2009 10:55:46 GMT -5
Just caught this on my e-mail server's welcome page: DISNEY TO BUY COMIC BOOK POWERHOUSE MARVEL FOR $4 BILLION
LOS ANGELES – The Walt Disney Co. said Monday it is buying Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing such characters as 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 the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, were co-created by the comic book legend Stan Lee.
Analyst David Joyce of Miller Tabak & Co. said the acquisition will help Disney appeal to young men who have flocked to theaters to see Marvel's superhero fare in recent years. That contrasts with Disney's recent successes among young women with such fare as "Hannah Montana" and the Jonas Brothers.
"It helps Disney add exposure to a young male demographic it had sort of lost some balance with," Joyce said, noting the $4 billion offer was at "full price."
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 $10.17, or 26 percent, to $48.82 shortly after the market opened. Disney shares fell 47 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $26.37.
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 last made a big purchase in 2006 when it acquired Pixar Animation Studios Inc., the creator of the "Toy Story" franchise, for $7.4 billion in stock.
Disney CEO Robert Iger said the latest 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.
Marvel earned a net profit of $206 million last fiscal year, up 47 percent from a year earlier, on revenue of $676 million, as it took movie production in house instead of just cutting licensing deals.Makes one wonder if we're gonna be seeing a series of KP comics at some point in the future. (We can always hope.)  |
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Post by Nightspade on Aug 31, 2009 12:31:22 GMT -5
I swear... I don't know whether to laugh, cry, cum, or punch something in the face. Is this good news? Bad? WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE MARVEL COMICS I LOVE BUT WHOSE STUPID STORY LINES I HAVE COME TO HATE!
If this some how results in everything from House of M to One More Day being retconned back into the firey depths of 'bad comic story arc hell' then I can only rejoice.
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Post by Darth Griffin on Aug 31, 2009 14:05:31 GMT -5
seriously? o.O WHAT WOULD STAN LEE SAY ABOUT THIS?! and yes, it is real |
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Post by Lord FunkyHoof on Aug 31, 2009 15:40:08 GMT -5
An out of date company who's strategy is to crank out sequels and remakes to dead franchises is buying a company who's strategy is to also crank out sequels and remakes of dead franchises?
What could possibly go wrong!
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Post by Ashley Benlove on Aug 31, 2009 16:20:36 GMT -5
*facepalms*
I don't even read comic books but THIS IS NOT COOL, DISNEY.
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Post by railroadnut70 on Aug 31, 2009 20:20:29 GMT -5
It should be pointed out here that Warner Bros. Entertainment has owned DC Comics for many years, and WB has made a gold mine turning DC characters into movies and animated shows. What's next; could Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation (which owns 20th Century Fox) buy out Archie Comics? Or General Electric (which owns NBC-Universal), or Sony (which owns Columbia Pictures), or Viacom (which owns Paramount)?
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Post by kpcoulditbe on Aug 31, 2009 20:28:47 GMT -5
Disney buying a bunch of cartoon characters.....BUT WHAT ABOUT HANNAH MONTANA? haha.
The theatrical movies won't last forever,disney.
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Post by YFWE on Aug 31, 2009 21:06:07 GMT -5
Well, as usual when it comes to Disney, looks like I'm in the minority here, but I don't think this sounds nearly as bad as it apparently does to the rest of you. I mean, I kinda wondered if they were going to go this route eventually, given that old Marvel cartoons had been shown on Disney XD (and Toon Disney before that) from time to time. To be perfectly honest, I don't think that it will affect much in terms of either company's policy.
Though the theme park aficionado in me did wonder this almost instantly: now that Disney has bought out Marvel, I wonder what this means for, say, Universal Studios and their Marvel-themed rides. It's no secret that the Universal parks and Disney parks in Florida and California are in close competition with each other... if Disney decides to play the 'we own this now lolz' card, Universal Studios' parks (especially Islands of Adventure) could have a bit of a predicament on their hands.
...yeah, all and all, this is a very curious move. I understand why they did it, of course, and I think it has the potential to benefit both the Disney and Marvel worlds (video game crossover ala Kingdom Hearts, anyone?), but it also could go pretty wrong. I'm intrigued, though. Definitely intrigued.
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Post by drakkenfan on Aug 31, 2009 21:24:37 GMT -5
I love X-Men... but is this good or bad news?
Well if they make some new X-men cartoons or movies on the Disney channel that stay true to the series, then it's good news. If it means that X-men will change to become more like Hannah Montana or whatever junk shows Disney is making these days then it's bad news.
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Post by kpcoulditbe on Aug 31, 2009 21:44:57 GMT -5
 Alllll-righty then. |
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Post by Nutzkie on Aug 31, 2009 21:50:59 GMT -5
Alllll-righty then. You just had to go there, didn't you?  |
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Post by fireandchutes77 on Aug 31, 2009 22:39:53 GMT -5
Though the theme park aficionado in me did wonder this almost instantly: now that Disney has bought out Marvel, I wonder what this means for, say, Universal Studios and their Marvel-themed rides. It's no secret that the Universal parks and Disney parks in Florida and California are in close competition with each other... I don't see the quandary. If Disney now owns the Marvel property, and the former Marvel property was raking in a lot of money, the theme park just became another naughty tentacle feeding Disney's money machine. |
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Post by YFWE on Aug 31, 2009 22:45:13 GMT -5
But see, the Marvel attractions are at a rival amusement park, owned by Universal Studios. That's where the problem comes in--Disney could very easily tell Universal to close down the rides and/or retheme them now that the copyrights to the characters used in said rides are under Disney control. Could be a blow to Universal's parks, mainly because the Marvel rides are largely the flagship attractions, especially at Islands of Adventure. It wouldn't be the downfall of them by any means, but it would certainly be a major inconvenience should Disney decide to play that card.
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Post by manofevil on Sept 1, 2009 2:55:40 GMT -5
I doubt that will be an issue. Disney will probably just inherit the contracts signed between Marvel and Universal and with them, the contractual obligations. Change of ownership of a company does NOT negate the contractual obligations made prior. It's probably already been negociated. Disney will just get paid large percentages of the parks revenues for the use of their new properties.
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Post by manofevil on Sept 1, 2009 3:29:41 GMT -5
Yes with the merger of Disney and Marvel we may expect the combining of many classic and beloved characters. In coming years we may look forward to...
Beauty and the Wolverine
The Little Atlantean
The Black Panther King
Snow Grey and the Seven X-Dwarves
Peter (Parker the Spectacular Spider) Pan
The Incredible Four
Captain Aladdin
101 Mutations
The Avengicats
Space Muties
Alice in the Savage Land
The Sabertooth of Notre Dame
Sleeping Mutie
And I always did prefer Disney's Hercules to Marvel's
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Post by manofevil on Sept 1, 2009 5:31:27 GMT -5
Oops, I left out Jean Possible and Scott Stoppable.
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Post by Nightspade on Sept 1, 2009 10:38:31 GMT -5
Jean Possible and Scott Stoppable Hmm. Kim as a psychotic uber-telepath who keeps dying and comming back? And who would be Wolverine? Josh? I've realized that this is probably a good thing. If only because it makes the long fantasized Marvel Vs. Disney video game that much closer to reality. IMAGINE IT! (disney's) Beast Vs. Wolverine Peter Pan Vs. Spiderman Jafar Vs. Dr. Doom Areil Vs. The Submariner (Disney's)Hercules Vs. Thor Mickey Mouse Vs. The Juggernaught Minnie Mouse Vs. Storm Mufasa Vs. every living thing in sight! |
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Post by YFWE on Sept 1, 2009 11:35:55 GMT -5
I doubt that will be an issue. Disney will probably just inherit the contracts signed between Marvel and Universal and with them, the contractual obligations. Change of ownership of a company does NOT negate the contractual obligations made prior. It's probably already been negociated. Disney will just get paid large percentages of the parks revenues for the use of their new properties. Trust me, I'm fully aware of that, and I doubt that there would be a problem at all. All I'm saying is that since the two parks are in direct competition with each other, Disney may decide that they don't want those rides over at Universal, a rival park, as Universal has been deterring the thrill-seeking teenage crowd (which seems to be the crowd they're trying to swoon by purchasing Marvel in the first place) from visiting Disney's parks. They could try to do something about it, that or get a sh it ton of money from Universal for keeping the rides there and not having them rethemed. Knowing Disney, the latter seems quite real! Of course, I'm just going for a 'what if' perspective. I never said any of this was absolutely going to happen. Just a problem that might be run into. |
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Post by liokaiser on Sept 1, 2009 16:09:06 GMT -5
When I heard it I was floored, though only marvel book I was buying was Ultimate Spider-man. (Now Ultimate Comics : Spider-man )
Somebody at another forum that I go to was just screaming at so and so in Kingdom hearts again.
Now I can think of one good in this, maybe FINALLY could get some KP comics done. (could even do Season 5 that way like they did with Buffy and Angel)
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Post by manofevil on Sept 2, 2009 2:17:08 GMT -5
Ariel vs. the SubMariner would probably end in a kiss... or something less mentionable.
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