Disney takes over Marvel

[Autosaver]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090831/..._entertainment

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.

For the lols? XD

 

[Thrust]

.......*commits sepikku*

No, seriously, this is like my worst friggin nightmare.... Oh well, goodbye spider-man... I guess I'll have to go back to DC

 

[sims]

Jesus Christ, you people are overreacting. Miramax is also owned by Disney. They've released films like Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Clerks, and Jay and Silent Bob, all of which are decidedly unDisney-like. So Disney bought Marvel. That doesn't mean they're going to have complete control over whatever they put out.

Reposted from another forum.

 

[MetalGear]

wow wtf....
NEW FROM DISNEY AND MARVEL!
MARVEL VS DISNEY! Enjoy the thrilling experience when you play as Mickey, Donald and Goofy against the infamous X-Men and other destructive friends in the Marvel World!
Or maybe ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3! Use your skills to control Micke-*shot*

I don't see anyway in hell how both companies can benefit from each other...

Ok Disney may own Miramax but what about disney's image? When I think of Disney, I think of fun characters like Mickey and etc. Not Movies like Kill Bill.

what are we to do now...

 

[sims]

I don't see anyway in hell how both companies can benefit from each other...

Marvel can use Disney's larger amount of resources in their work, while Disney attracts a much larger audience with the partnership.

what are we to do now...

Continue enjoying things as they were before with little to no changes.

 

[Chibs]

Everyone in this topic, sans Simsmagic, of course, is horribly overreacting.

"wtf disnet buys marvel now wel see donald duck as the villan in spiderman4!!!!"
"omg disney bought marvel now all there films will have to be rated g!!!!!"
"oh crap now disney is going to start putting their actors into marvel films!!"

Ugh, get a grip. You idiots obviously haven't read the finer print aside from just zomg disney bought marvel.

Disney has already stated that they are not going to interfere with Marvel's creative design, and that Marvel is still pretty much free to do what they want with their films. For those of you overreacting about "Bubububut what about the film's MPAA rating?" Good Lord, it's not like Disney hasn't distributed PG-13 movies before (may I redirect your minds to Pirates of the Caribbean?) And if Disney feels uncomfortable about slapping their name on a more adult film, just remember that they always have Mirimax or Touchstone on standby.

 

[Cyan Ryan]

X-Men High School Musical.

 

[LongcrierCat]

They are finally trying to get the qttention of young men?

Why oh why did I have a feeling that Epic Mickey was leading up to a similar announcement to this?

And if it is true that Disney is letting them treat the franchise as they did before then I really cannot wait to see how this relation develops. If otherwise, I will despise the corporation for years to come. I mean, wow.

And before you say anything about Disney being childish, I suggest you watch The Black Hole. Whilst, I have not yet seen it, I heard from a friend that it is very mature.

So, yes, I have to agree with Chisuun here. Stop overreacting.

 

[Fawfulfan]

Heh, yesterday a kid at my school told me about this with a great deal of drama. Then again, he talks about everything dramatically...

 

[Jellybones]

I heard about this just a while before reading this topic. I don't think they'll totally destroy Marvel or anything, and that appealing to young men is a smart choice. Still, there's something I don't like that I can't put my finger on.
I don't think much will change though.

 

[Yugi2]

It sounds like a plus for both of them. Disney and Marvel get eachother's fame, Marvel gets to work on about whatever it wants, and Disney gets a wider audience, equaling more $$$ for both companies.

 

[Gemini Spark]

Well, the DisneyXD channel was already showing Marvel shows, so this still surprises me but not as much. This, of course, doesn't mean Disney'll take over Wolverine and the X-Men or Iron Man: Armored Adventures; Nickolodeon should still have the rights to those shows.