Disney Buys Marvel For US$4 Billion Dollars

In reference to the "DISNEY BUYS MARVEL" news that has no doubt by now swept thru the cyber-sphere (especially via Twitter, where I first caught wind of the news-titbit) - this particular duo-images by Illustrator Jerry Teo (posted on his blog) best sums up what folks might be thinking / wondering / dreading, dunnit? *Rawk it, Jerry!* LOL

CLICK THRU to read the lowdown of what would be one of the business-highlights of 2009, IMHO (hey, to us there are our beloved characters, but they are "brands" and "properties" to the powers-that-be, yeh?)

The NY-Times reports: "LOS ANGELES — Spider-Man and his Marvel Entertainment cohorts will join the Walt Disney Company in a $4 billion deal announced early Monday. Disney said in a statement that it would pay a combination of about 60 percent cash and 40 percent stock to acquire Marvel, which has a stable of some 5,000 characters that includes the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor."

According to MARVEL.com - an investor conference call took place at approximately 10:15 a.m. EDT / 7:15 a.m. PDT August 31, 2009.

“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including 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.

And while the reactions have mostly been "not so positive" ("The world has come to an end" et al) - I can't help but be "excited" to see what will come out of this! .... but just keep the crossovers at a minimum, please? LOL

[Images used with kind permission]