This morning comic book readers woke up to the news that Disney is buying Marvel Comics for $4 billion dollars. This from the Hollywood Reporter:
The House of Mouse said Monday it will acquire the super-hero factory in a cash and stock transaction that values each share of Marvel at $50, a 29% premium to where the stock closed Friday.
Disney said it will pay $30 in cash plus about three-quarters of a Disney share for each share of Marvel. The payment consideration will fluctuate depending on the price of Disney shares so that not less than 40% of the price-tag will consist of Disney stock.
Disney acquires ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters to be overseen by Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter, who is charged with cherry-picking when and where they'll show up within Disney's vast empire, including online and in video games.
Wihen will we see that Goofy-Captain America crossover?
The way in which Perlmutter addressed how Marvel would be integrated into Disney’s fold, he likened it to Disney’s $7 billion dollar acquisition of Pixar a few years ago, that although they will own Marvel, the publisher is still very much its own entity.
With DC Comics being owned by Warner Brothers, and the comic book medium’s ever-growing influence in mainstream media, it was probably only a matter of time before both of comic books' two biggest publishers would be owned by media corporations.
Obviously, the House of Mouse has to have some kind of grand purpose for acquiring the House of Ideas, which for fans and readers are the ones likely to benefit the most. If you think about it, this will also force Warner Bros. and DC to strengthen their cross-media relationship as well. A lot of doors, and new ideas have just been flung wide open. That’s always a good thing.
Disney's Official News Release.
Comments