Disney buys Marvel

In shock news today the Mouse has bought Marvel Comics for $4 billion.

Robert A. Iger President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company offered the following statement;

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”

In response a seemingly very happy Marvel CEO Isaac Pelmutter glowingly addressed the purchase;

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.

Although it is too early to understand the fullest implications of what this means for both companies, it appears likely that once Marvel's Paramount deal is done (five movies from now) all future Marvel motion pictures, including the highly successful Spider-man, Iron Man and X-Men franchises, will feed the Disney coffers.

Both companies are citing the Disney/Pixar relationship of virtual autonomy as the model for Disney/Marvel's future interaction but with the deal not being finalised until the end of the year we're certain to get a better idea of all the details before christmas.