Updated: Marvel Transforms Into Disney Unit; Deal Valued At $4.3 Billion
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As expected, 2009 ended with 70-year-old Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL) and its 5,000-plus characters as part of The Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) Company. Marvel shareholders approved the $4.3 billion merger early Thursday and the completed deal was announced after the market closed. Adding the likes of Spider-Man and X-Men should help raise Disney’s appeal to young males, while the company expects licensing to pay for the deal.
SEE ALSO: Disney-Marvel: History In Links
The cash-and-stock deal announced in August was the second- largest acquisition in CEO Bob Iger’s tenure and in Disney’s history; the payout for Pixar in 2006 was $7.4 billion in stock. Marvel shareholders get $30 per share in cash, plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share they own. Marvel will operate as a standalone unit with its CEO Ike Perlmutter in charge. Perlmutter owned 37 percent of Marvel—putting his take at about $1.5 billion.
Meanwhile, investors in both companies celebrated the news, as Marvel’s stock was up 0.41 percent to $54.27, while Disney’s share price gained 0.90 percent to $32.57 after the deal was announced this morning. Disney closed at $32.25, though, down slightly from the previous day while Marvel closed for the last time at $54.08. Marvel release Disney release
Posted In: Entertainment, Media & Publishing, Magazines, Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, Companies, Disney
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