Quote:
Entertainment giant Walt Disney has agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment, whose stable of characters includes Spider Man, Iron Man and the X-Men, in a stock and cash deal valued at $US4 billion ($4.7 billion).
"We believe that adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation," Disney president and chief executive Robert Iger said.
"We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney."
Marvel chief executive Ike Perlmutter says 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 organisation and infrastructure around the world."
Besides Spider-Man, Iron Man and the X-Men, Marvel's cast of over 5,000 characters includes Captain America, the Fantastic Four and Thor.
Disney and Marvel said Marvel shareholders would receive a total of $US30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own.
It said that based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $US4 billion.
Mr Perlmutter will continue to oversee the Marvel properties, which include Marvel Studios, Marvel Animation and Marvel Comics, and will "work directly with Disney's global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel's properties," the statement said.
It said the boards of directors of both companies have approved the transaction, but it still needs the green light from anti-trust authorities and Marvel shareholders.
Disney to buy Marvel in $4.7b deal - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)