How Did Disney Acquire Marvel Entertainment?
It first started with Disney CEO Bob Iger bringing up the acquisition idea to Marvel film chief David Maisel. About three months of intense back-and-forth negotiations, the $4-billion deal was struck and announced August 31, 2009.
But how did it all go down? The LA Times tells you how.
In a new development that could sour slightly Disney’s acquisition of Marvel Entertainment, Jack Kirby’s heirs want to reclaim the rights to his creations.
These creations include Marvel powerhouse icons the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the Hulk.
It doesn’t mean Disney can’t use the characters, but it does mean they may have to pay the family half of any royalties – and the family will also have the right to license out those franchises.
Disney to buy comic book powerhouse Marvel for $4B
WOW! Two of my favorite geek properties are now in the same family?!?!
The Walt Disney Co. announced Monday the acquisition of Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing characters like Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of Mickey Mouse and WALL-E.
You know I love Disney. But maybe you didn’t know that I’ve grown up reading X-Men comics and loving those mutant super-heroes. The Iron Man movie RAWKED and the Iron Man: Armored Adventures cartoon is beautiful and neat. The Spider-Man comics, in my strong opinion, are finding a resurgence with strong storytelling.
Disney said the boards of both companies have approved the transaction, but it will require an antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.
I got all geeky giddy when reading current Head Mouse, Robert Iger said:
“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. 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.”
Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer is positive on the acquisition:
“Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses. 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.”
Oh my!! My geeky mind is racing with the “significant opportunities” of “value creation” of Marvel characters in the Disney mega-media machine!! Will we see Spider-Man and the X-Men walking around Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Will there be an Iron Man adventure ride? How about an Marvel Superheroes / Disney team-up computer game like Disney did with the Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts?
Paramount and Sony, I believe, still hold the rights on Marvel movie distribution for the next few years, so we’ll need to wait for Disney’s influence on Marvel movies.
I just can’t fully fathom the creative future possibilities that now exist with these two giants of media in one house!
The social networks, especially Twitter, are exploding with this news! Most are shocked by this news. The reaction seem positive, with everyone voicing how they think Disney should handle the Marvel franchise.
What is your reaction to this news? How would you like Disney to integrate the Marvel characters into the Disney Universe? What do you think are some possibilities from this acquisition?
As Stan Lee would say, “Hold on True Believers!”
Click over the Travelears web site to read the full details of the deal.
