Media juggernaut Walt Disney Co. has announced that it will be acquiring Marvel in its entirety, including its 5000+ library of original characters. Apparently, Marvel shareholders will be recieiving $30 per share upon, in addiditon to 0.745 shares of Disney stock for every 1 share of Marvel that they own. Based on the closing market prices of last Friday, the deal works out to around $50 per share and a total value of about $4 billion dollars.
"Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses," Marvel's Chief Executive Officer, Ike Perlmutter, says. "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."
As for Disney, Chief Executive Roger Iger said "We believe that adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation." Or, in other words, X-Men = $$.
Marvel shareholders surely made out like bandits in this acquisiton, but the more burning question is: what about the fans? Marvel has long touted their hands-on and self-sufficient productions, particularly when it comes to their film division. Being a part of a major corporation could create a fair amount of detractors among Marvel loyalists.
Though Marvel's competitor DC Comics has been a subsidiary of Warner Brothers for quite some time now, any huge acquistion like this is certainly unnerving for comic fans, as it brings in a whole wealth of people that are from beyond the comics industry that may take it upon themselves to meddle in things in which they do not belong. Time will tell how it all turns out, but for now I'm sure you will join me in the holding of our collective nerd breaths.
This morning, Marvel shares skyrocketed 27%. Disney shares didn't move.
