Spider-Man Meets Mickey Mouse as Disney Buy Marvel

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Disney pay $4 billion for Marvel Entertainment.

Disney have reached an agreement with Marvel Entertainment, the home of superhero legends like Spider-Man, Iron Man and the X-Men, to acquire the company for $4 billion (£2.5 billion).

Disney will acquire the rights to the Marvel portfolio of over 5,000 much beloved comic book characters which are expected to feature heavily in new Disney theme park rides as well as appearing on Disney’s numerous television channels.

The deal was signed off by boards of directors from both companies, but awaits regulatory approval and the nod from Marvel shareholders.

The agreement is structured such that Marvel shareholders will receive 0.745 Disney shares for each of their Marvel shares plus a cash payout of $30 per share, giving an approximate transaction value of $50 per share. Shareholders are set to gain a bonus premium of 29 per cent for their shares based on today’s valuations.

Marvel’s CEO, Ike Perlmutter said in the joint press announcement from the two companies: “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.” Whilst Marvel will use Disney as a staging platform to increase its global dominance in the lucrative entertainment market, Disney hope to recapture the young male demographic.



Disney’s success as a family entertainer has in recent years been skewed towards young females. Whilst the appeal of Marvel heroes has become more universal, boys are still the predominant fans of the Marvel characters which should suit Disney just fine. With the second Iron Man film due for release next year and Spider-Man 4 in the pipeline for 2011, Disney have plenty of Blockbuster dollars to look forward from their acquisition.