Huge news this morning from CNNMOney.com
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.
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.
"We believe that adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation," said Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger, in a statement.
Marvel has launched a large number of action-hero movies over the past decade. Last summer's "Iron Man" blockbuster was the first to be fully financed and produced by by the comic book company.
Marvel also holds the rights to 5,000 popular action hero characters, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and Thor.
"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."
Shares of Marvel (MVL) soared 27% in morning trading. Shares of Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) were flat.
This deal will have huge ramifications on the theme parks. Not just the Disney ones either.
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.
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.
"We believe that adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation," said Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger, in a statement.
Marvel has launched a large number of action-hero movies over the past decade. Last summer's "Iron Man" blockbuster was the first to be fully financed and produced by by the comic book company.
Marvel also holds the rights to 5,000 popular action hero characters, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and Thor.
"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."
Shares of Marvel (MVL) soared 27% in morning trading. Shares of Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) were flat.
This deal will have huge ramifications on the theme parks. Not just the Disney ones either.