Disney Buys Marvel, Plans Sorcerer Supreme’s Apprentice Limited Series

So I thought the biggest news (for me) today would be that I’m thirty years old, but Disney had to outdo me by buying frickin’ Marvel!

Here thar be press release:

Burbank, CA and New York, NY, August 31, 2009 —Building on its strategy of delivering quality branded content to people around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:MVL) in a stock and cash transaction, the companies announced today.

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney on August 28, 2009, Marvel shareholders would receive a total of $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. At closing, the amount of cash and stock will be adjusted if necessary so that the total value of the Disney stock issued as merger consideration based on its trading value at that time is not less than 40% of the total merger consideration.

Based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, August 28, the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.

“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man (Two-Disc Special Collectors’ Edition)” rel=”amazon”>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.”

“We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation,” Iger said.

“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.”

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters. Mr. Perlmutter will oversee the Marvel properties, and will work directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel’s properties.

The deal still has to be approved by Marvel shareholders and get antitrust approval, but I seriously doubt either will be a problem.

Really, this could either be a huge benefit to both companies or could drag them both down (see the AOL/Time Warner merger). My bet is on it being a good thing. Disney has a history of letting its acquisitions keep doing what they do best. Once Marvel’s distribution deals with Sony and Paramount end and Disney’s comic deals with other companies expire, they’re looking at some streamlined, profitable processes.

Besides, you know you’re dying to see a Muppets-as-X-men parody just as much as I am. Animal is the best there is at what he does!

That Sorcerer Supreme’s Apprentice idea, while a joke, would also be pretty awesome.