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Disney Buys Marvel For $4 Billion

By Nemesis
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Nemesis

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The worldwide leader in family entertainment is about to get a great deal more entertaining, as the Walt Disney Company agrees to acquire iconic comic book company Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion.

 

More than 5,000 iconic comic book characters will soon be in the hands of Disney, raising serious questions about the future of Marvel video game titles from Activision, Sega, THQ, and the upcoming MMO from Gazillion Entertainment. Under the terms of the agreement, Disney will pay Marvel shareholders $30 per share for their Marvel stock, plus .745 of a share of Disney stock for each share they own.

 

"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," said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. "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."

 

That's Disney's say on the matter, and here is Marvel's, from the official press release:

 

"Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses," said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel's Chief Executive Officer. "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."

 

Both companies have approved the deal, though it still has to clear the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and various regulatory committees before it can be finalized. Once finalized, Marvel's Perlmutter will continue to oversee Marvel's properties, working with Disney to help integrate the two properties across multiple lines of business.

 

We're staying on top of the situation, with calls out to Disney, Marvel, Activision, THQ, and Sega for comment on what effects this move will have on Marvel-based video game properties.

 

Nice pile of cash for Stan Lee!!

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Nemesis

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Disney Will Reexamine Marvel Video Game Deals As They Expire

 

While Disney has been increasing their in-house video game development, the company doesn't feel a need to take over all Marvel game development in the future, company spokesmen told investors this morning.

 

"On the video game front, (Marvel) have some smart licensing agreements with some of the best video game manufacturers in the business," said Lowell Singer, Disney's senior vice president of investor relations. "While we have been steadily moving in the direction of video game integration, we don't rule out the blend of licensing and self-produced and distributed video games.

 

"As these licensing deals expire we have the luxury of considering what's best for the company and the products."

 

Earlier today, Disney announced that they were buying Marvel for $4 billion in cash and stock. The deal would give Disney ownership of Marvel's 5,000 characters. Currently both Activision and Sega publish games based on Marvel properties.

 

Under current deals with Marvel, Activision, Sega, Gazillion and THQ all have different licensing deals to make video games based on the comic company's characters.

 

Activision's deal with Marvel, which includes the Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Wolverine games, expires in 2017. Gazillion Entertainment's deal with Marvel, which includes several massively multiplayer online games, expires in 2019. Sega's deal with Marvel, which includes games based on Marvel movies, is described multi-year. The same is true of THQ's deal with Marvel, which includes video games based on Marvel's Super Hero Squad.

 

While video games are certainly an important part of Disney's acquisition of Marvel, there are plenty of other opportunities for both companies, including comics, toys and movies.

 

Speaking more generally Tom Staggs, Disney's senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, noted that Disney is well aware of Marvel's great potential and that Disney is looking into future potential characters that can be turned into other things, including movies and video games.

 

"As the current agreements in place sunset we will look to exploit the library of characters more broadly," Staggs said. "This is a big library of properties and we think there is real opportunity.We plan to evaluate where those opportunities are greatest and how we can leverage those across both Marvel and Disney."

 

Does that mean we're going to see future video games with Marvel and Disney characters in one title? I suspect not, with perhaps one major exception. But would involve getting Square Enix on board as well.

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[-VR-] Tool_Minion

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Disney is one of the shrewdest businesses out there......I highly doubt concerned is warranted here. The ONLY thing I could see is the movies/comics becoming less sexual or gruesome. That isn't necessarily BAD either;

 

Sinbad managed to be a VERY funny stand up comedian without ever uttering one curse word.

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BigMoneyNacku

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Tool_Minion ]

The ONLY thing I could see is the movies/comics becoming less sexual or gruesome. That isn't necessarily BAD either;

 

 

 

It's a bad thing for shareholders. If they start toning down comics, sales will plunge. Especially considering these days adults make up the larger share of comic readers.

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Xx-CHURCHY-xX

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Tool_Minion ]

Disney is one of the shrewdest businesses out there......I highly doubt concerned is warranted here. The ONLY thing I could see is the movies/comics becoming less sexual or gruesome. That isn't necessarily BAD either;

 

Sinbad managed to be a VERY funny stand up comedian without ever uttering one curse word.

Judging by some of Disney's movies like National Treasure and Pirates, I wouldn't worry THAT much about them going nuts on toning down violence or anything. Plus, Bambi's dad got pwn't. Disney is more gruesome than QT :P
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