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Disney Snatches Up Marvel for $4 Billion

Posted August 31, 2009 by James Brightman

From the "holy crap" news department today comes word that Disney has just added another company to its family: Marvel Entertainment. The transaction is based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, August 28, $50 per Marvel share, which yields a purchase price of $4 billion. 

The Boards of Directors of both Disney and Marvel have each already approved the transaction, but it's still "subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, effectiveness of a registration statement with respect to Disney shares issued in the transaction and other customary closing conditions." Marvel shareholders also have to approve the deal.

The deal gives Disney the rights to Marvel's 5,000 characters, many of whom have been starring in both movies and video games in recent years. Marvel seems to be having a resurgence, which started with the Spider-Man and X-Men movies and has continued with The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and Wolverine films. Disney has also been making a big push in the video game space with its Disney Interactive Studios and online division. These comic book franchises should fit the company's video game focus nicely, although we do have to wonder what happens to deals with other publishers (like Sega, Activision, THQ) concerning Marvel properties.

Update: Disney noted on its conference call that it will reexamine the Marvel game deals [thanks Kotaku]. "On the video game front, (Marvel) have some smart licensing agreements with some of the best video game manufacturers in the business," said Lowell Singer, Disney's senior vice president of investor relations. "While we have been steadily moving in the direction of video game integration, we don't rule out the blend of licensing and self-produced and distributed video games. As these licensing deals expire we have the luxury of considering what's best for the company and the products."

“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories,” said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. “Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney.”

“We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation,” he added.

“Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses,” said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer. “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." 

James Brightman has been covering the games industry since 2003 and has been an avid gamer ever since the days of Atari and Intellivision. He was previously the EIC of GameDaily Biz.