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Disney to Buy Marvel

Feb 1, 2008
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Sanford, FL
Source: http://www.cfnews13.com/Business/Lo..._buying_marvel_for_4_million.html?cid=twitter

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 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 Disney family.

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters.

Disney said Monday that Marvel shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash, plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share they own.

It said the boards of Disney and Marvel have both approved the transaction, but it requires an antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.
 
woooow. Disney is ruthless....

Spielberg/DreamWorks..... check.
Marvel....... check.

i'm not sure, but i think Disney bought me last year....
 
So let's cut to the chase and what we're all thinking. How will this effect IOA? Are they really gonna have to shut down the Marvel section of the park???

my first thought -- Disney could strong-arm Uni into a really expensive licensing deal..... whereas Disney either basically cashes in on IOA business as well (easy money, with a constant thorn in Uni's side as they ring up sales for Disney)...... or the deal is so expensive as to force Universal into a MAJOR renovation.
 
my first thought -- Disney could strong-arm Uni into a really expensive licensing deal..... whereas Disney either basically cashes in on IOA business as well (easy money, with a constant thorn in Uni's side as they ring up sales for Disney)...... or the deal is so expensive as to force Universal into a MAJOR renovation.

So I guess either way, Universal is screwed. Unbelievable.:bang:
 
So I guess either way, Universal is screwed. Unbelievable.:bang:

yuppers. possible Potter revenge?

This is my only/biggest complaint with Disney. They own way too much, and are constantly searching for new properties to own. Seems to me Disney has way more to work with alone without owning everything else. They should focus on their own brands, projects, legacy, etc.
 
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IOA is SAFE.

From the Orlando Sentinel:

"Marvel also has various deals with the two-park Universal Orlando. The agreements governing two of Universal's hugely popular rides, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk roller coaster, appear to be virtually perpetual deals. According to Universal's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Universal Orlando retains American rights east of the Mississippi River for as long as its attractions are in operation.

Universal and Marvel also have various deals for everything from merchandise sales to the theming of many other portions of the Orlando resort's Islands of Adventure theme park. When asked about Marvel's licensing deals with other companies for movie projects, Iger said Disney would honor the terms of those contracts. He did not specifically comment on Marvel's deal with Universal Orlando, nor did Perlmutter."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-bk-disney-marvel-entertainment-083109,0,2559631.story
 
Here is more information regarding the purchase:

From CNN

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Walt Disney Co. announced Monday that it has agreed to purchase comic book and action hero company Marvel Entertainment for about $4 billion.


The deal pairs a comic book publisher that just recently began to produce its own movies with one of the largest international media companies in the world.


"This is perfect from a strategic perspective," Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger told CNNMoney.com. "This treasure trove of over 5,000 characters offers Disney the ability to do what we do best."


On a conference call with investors, Iger said the deal will allow Disney to sell Marvel's vast array of characters and properties across different media platforms and in many more markets. For instance, Iger said that Disney's Pixar animation unit was excited about the opportunities that a Marvel acquisition could yield.


"Spider-Man will appear in 'A Bug's Life' sequel," joked Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente.


The deal would give Disney some content that appeals more to boys, a market it has been looking to develop, Iger said. Disney XD, a television station and video game unit, already had a deal with Marvel to use some of the comic book company's action heroes in its content.


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


Disney Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs noted that Marvel owns the rights to many action-hero characters that are not widely known, which Disney anticipates bringing to the forefront for future movies or TV shows should the deal go through.


If Marvel shareholders approve the deal, they would receive $30 per share in cash and 0.745 shares of Disney for each share of Marvel that they hold. The deal is valued at $50 per Marvel share, more than a 29% premium, based on Friday's closing price.
Disney said it will issue about 59 million shares as a result of a deal, but it will repurchase as many shares over the course of the 12 months following the deal's closing.


Marvel has launched a large number of action-hero movies over the past decade, including "Spider-Man," "X-Men," "The Fantastic Four" and "The Incredible Hulk."
Last summer's "Iron Man" blockbuster earned just under $100 million over three days, the second-best non-sequel opening ever, according to Entertainment Weekly. "Iron Man" was the first Marvel movie to be fully financed and produced by the comic book company.


But Marvel still holds deals with Paramount, Sony and Fox for future movies, including several more Spider-Man films. Marvel chairman Morton Handel estimated that the company has about five more films with Paramount and intends to honor the current contracts it has with other movie studios, even if the Disney deal is inked before the contracts expire.


Marvel pays Paramount, the comic book company's primary movie distributor, between $20 million and $60 million per movie in distribution fees, according to Barton Crockett, analyst at Lazard Capital Markets.


Crockett said Disney would likely become the sole distributor of Marvel's movies in the future, giving it a "full plate" of movie releases, including Pixar, Marvel and its own films.


Shares of Marvel (MVL) soared 26% in morning trading. Shares of Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) were down 3%.

and from Superherohype.com

Building on its strategy of delivering quality branded content to people around the world, The Walt Disney Company has agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment, Inc. in a stock and cash transaction, the companies announced today.

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney on August 28, 2009, Marvel shareholders would receive a total of $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. At closing, the amount of cash and stock will be adjusted if necessary so that the total value of the Disney stock issued as merger consideration based on its trading value at that time is not less than 40% of the total merger consideration.

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

“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,” Iger said.

“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.”

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters. Mr. Perlmutter will oversee the Marvel properties, and will work directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel’s properties.

The Boards of Directors of Disney and Marvel have each approved the transaction, which is 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. The agreement will require the approval of Marvel shareholders. Marvel was advised on the transaction by BofA Merrill Lynch.


UPDATE #1: In a conference call, the companies said that the deals for movies for characters at other studios (Spider-Man, X-Men, etc.) will stay in place under the terms set by Marvel and the other studios.

UPDATE #2: John Lasseter met with Marvel last week about a possible team-up between Marvel and Pixar and got "pretty excited, pretty fast." They say there's definitely an opportunity there.

UPDATE #3: The deal with Paramount Pictures to distribute "Iron Man 2," "Thor," "Captain America" and "The Avengers" stays in place as well, but Disney would like to self-distribute down the line. "When the time comes we'll take a closer look at it." It was actually stated that the deal still included five films, so that is one more film after "The Avengers."

I love seeing that comment about Pixar/Marvel.
 
Well, atleast it won't effect the theme parks. I couldn't imagine them having to change everything. That would be crazy.

Michael Bay Island. :lol:
 
"Splosions!!!! Featuring: Optimus Prime"

There would be giant robots walking around blowing stuff up for no reason in the streets, the team members would be forced to say all kinds of awful dialogue, the Fantastic Four car outside Cafe 4 would be changed to a plane from Pearl Harbor, and at every sunset, a helicopter would fly to give a vantage point that you see in everyone of his movies.
 
Even though this won't really effect the Marvel Superhero Island at AIO, I kind of wish it would have. That is my least favorite island (the rides are awesome... I just don't like the atmosphere) and I wish they would have ended up with a Gotham City Island, instead.

But Six Flags does already have plenty of Batman themed rides. So, meh...
 
Six Flags has the rights to use DC characters in the parks so don't expect that. I'd be much more excited about "Splosions!!!!!! The Island".

We could get a Hulk Retheme to Armageddon
Spidey retheme to Splosions
Doom could be about Freddy....:lol:
 
What tha??!! So what, now the Spiderman ride will close? Heard something about a new Transformers ride awhile back at IOA. Maybe Universal has prepared for the possibility coz' at the time, it was said that the new Transformers ride would be redundant given the Spiderman attraction.
 
What tha??!! So what, now the Spiderman ride will close? Heard something about a new Transformers ride awhile back at IOA. Maybe Universal has prepared for the possibility coz' at the time, it was said that the new Transformers ride would be redundant given the Spiderman attraction.

Scroll up and read. It clearly says that they have an exclusive contract with Universal. Now when that contract runs up....
 
While Universal may be ALLOWED to keep the attractions, I can see Disney making them add a Disney/Marvel logo. If something like that were to happen I can see Universal dumping the Marvel characters and redoing the area into something like a Monsters Island. With The Frankenstien Coaster, Werewolves of London (Spiderman) ride, and The Time Warp (Stormforce redone with a Rocky Horror theme), and Tower of London ( Chamber of Horrors Redo of Fearfall).
 
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