DISNEY - DISNEY'S MARVEL-OUS DEAL

DISNEY'S MARVEL-OUS DEAL

Although a few financial analysts are criticizing the $4-billion price Disney was willing to pay for Marvel Entertainment -- a 29-percent premium to Friday's closing price -- most are acknowledging that Disney chief Robert Iger made a slick move in buying the company. They suggest, however, that it is, as the London Times put it, "a dream present for Marvel," and particularly its CEO, Ike Perlmutter, who stands to pocket $1.4 billion for his 37-percent stake in the business. Perlmutter has been instrumental in revitalizing Marvel since he bought it out of bankruptcy in 1998. He'll become the second-largest shareholder in Disney, behind Steve Jobs, who sold Pixar to the company. According to reports, Perlmutter will continue to oversee the operations of Marvel, which will remain an autonomous operation à la Pixar. In an interview with Fortune magazine Iger said that he regarded the acquisition as a "meaningful growth opportunity" as a standalone brand within the company. Iger did indicate that he pondered the amount of violence in Marvel's stories and how it might be reflected on Disney's public image. However, he added, "Not everything we do has to be Disney-branded, although that's the priority. ... This is not going to be about Disney sanitizing Marvel in any way." The Disney-Marvel deal represents a blow to Paramount, which only last year signed a deal to distribute the next five Marvel films. The Disney deal means that after those five films are released, Disney will likely take over distribution of Marvel movies. "That could pose a problem for Paramount, which leans on revenue garnered by distributing films produced by others," the Wall Street Journal observed today (Tuesday). (Sony has three Spider-Man sequels in the works; Universal reportedly has plans to release another Hulk movie, despite disappointing results from last year's sequel; and 20th Century Fox has plans for more Wolverine films.) In a statement, Stan Lee, who co-founded Marvel in 1961 and co-created many of its most noteworthy superheroes, said that he "couldn't be happier with this agreement." Lee, who stands to benefit from the use of his characters by the merged companies, said, "This is a great day for the two companies and for the entertainment community as a whole. ... When you combine the best with the best, everyone wins!"

01/09/2009