Disney to Become Even More Marvel-ous

The Associated Press is reporting that Disney is going to buy comic book powerhouse Marvel for $4 billion in both cash and stocks. Following the announcement, Marvel shares jumped $10.17, or 26 percent, to $48.82 while Disney shares fell 47 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $26.37.

Analysts are saying that the move is to appeal to Marvel’s mainstay demographic. Disney’s recent entertainment ventures, Hannah Montana, The Jonas Brothers, have appealed greatly to young women, but nothing was readily-targeted at young men. That’s where Marvel gets involved. The comic book movie has become hugely successful, and with throngs of Marvel movies in preproduction, the addition to Disney is going to print money for everyone involved.

Disney CEO Robert Iger said Marvel’s “strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters” with Disney’s “unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties” and ability to maximize value across multiple platforms and territories was the reason for the business deal.

Personally, I’ve heard rumors about Marvel’s troubled financial situations numerous times in the past few years. With the decrease in comic book sales and the amount of money Marvel’s had to drop into their motion picture company, a boost of $4 billion couldn’t hurt anyone. Except the shareholders.

Source: AP via Yahoo!