WTF: Marvel To Be Bought by Disney in $4 Billion Dollar Deal
Stephen Adams, Telegraph: Marvel Entertainment, the comics colossus which has given the world such superheroes as Spider-Man and Iron Man, is to be bought by Disney in a deal worth £2.5 billion ($4bn).
Over the decades the company has grown into a stable with some 5,000 characters. The comic inventions, which also include the X-Men, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America and The Fantastic Four, will become the intellectual property of Disney under terms of the deal.
Robert Iger, Disney’s president and chief executive, said: “We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation.
“We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney.” He compared the purchase of Marvel to Disney’s 2006 acquisition of Pixar Animation for $7.4 billion. Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s chief exectuive, said Disney was “the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses.”
Shares of Marvel jumped 26.08 per cent in New York to $48.73 about an hour after the market opening. Disney’s shares dropped 2.05 per cent to $26.29. Marvel’s characters have proved particularly successful at the cinema box office.
Blade, starring Wesley Snipes, based on a minor 1970s Marvel Comics character, grossed £80 million ($131m) worldwide in 1998. Two years later X-Men, starring Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen, more than doubled that.
Next came the astonishing success of Spider-Man, starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, which grossed just over £500m ($821m). It has since spawned two sequels. Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr, released last year, has grossed more than $585m (£359m) worldwide. An Iron Man sequel, as well as films featuring Captain America, Thor and The Avengers are expected over the next five years.
Merchandise like toys, DVDs, and video games – one of Disney’s strongest suits – have to date earned Marvel millions more.
