Disney buys Marvel! Permafrost in Hell soon expected!

In what is possibly the most confusing business move this year (or even this decade), Disney has announced that they plan to buy the comic giant Marvel for $4 Billion dollars.

Robert Iger, chief executive at Disney, said this:

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

Meanwhile, Marvel's Ike Perlmutter also commented on the deal:

“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.”

While ownership will go to Disney, Perlmutter will apparently still control and direct Marvel and its properties as a company.

Personally, I haven't been this confused since Electronic Arts bought Bioware. I mean, damn, I'm at a loss for words. Is this good or bad? What will this mean for future movies and creative projects? Will we see Spider-Man teaming up with Mickey Mouse? Will there be a comic about Bolt meeting Thor? Who freaking knows?

On the one hand, it does show some some intelligence on part of Disney. Their profits have been steadily going down in the past year. A logical, reasoned explanation might be that the recession has hit Disney with fewer people able to spend money on entertainment. I, however, prefer to think people are sick and tired of the High School Musical/Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers bubblegum pop bullshit they've been selling us for the past few years.

Now what do I think about all this? I honestly don't much at all. This deal could either be the best thing or the worst thing for both companies involved. Time will tell if consumers will benefit from this as much as the companies' stocks. Due to the differences in their creative aesthetic, though, this may simply amount to just a re-direction of cash flow. At any rate, the deal isn't quite finalized, waiting on the approval of Marvel's shareholders.

Peace, people.

Original Source: http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/disney-to-buy-marvel-for-4-billion/