Disney to buy Marvel for $4b
In this July 24, 2008 file photo, Marvel Comics "Incredible Hulk" looms over attendees at the Comic-Con 2008 convention in San Diego. The Walt Disney Co. said Monday, Aug. 31, 2009, it is buying Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing characters like Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of Mickey Mouse and WALL-E.(AP Photo/Denis Poroy, file)
This is coming straight from the wire today
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Walt Disney Co. said Monday it is buying Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing such characters as Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of Mickey Mouse and WALL-E.
Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters. Many of them, including the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, were co-created by the comic book legend Stan Lee.
Analyst David Joyce of Miller Tabak & Co. said the acquisition will help Disney appeal to young men who have flocked to theaters to seeMarvel’s superhero fare in recent years. That contrasts with Disney’s recent successes among young women with such fare as “Hannah Montana” and the Jonas Brothers.
“It helps Disney add exposure to a young male demographic it had sort of lost some balance with,” Joyce said, noting the $4 billion offer was at “full price.”
Disney said Marvel shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash, plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share they own. That values each Marvel share at $50 based on Friday’s closing stock prices.
Marvel shares jumped $10.17, or 26 percent, to $48.82 shortly after the market opened. Disney shares fell 47 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $26.37.
Disney said the boards of both companies have approved the transaction, but it will require an antitrust review and the approval of Marvelshareholders.
Disney last made a big purchase in 2006 when it acquired Pixar Animation Studios Inc., the creator of the “Toy Story” franchise, for $7.4 billion in stock.
Disney CEO Robert Iger said the latest acquisition combines 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.
Marvel earned a net profit of $206 million last fiscal year, up 47 percent from a year earlier, on revenue of $676 million, as it took movie production in house instead of just cutting licensing deals.
Star Trek Week: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Another look back at “Star Trek” of the past as the new movie approaches: “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.”
The cast of this film is a who’s who of past and future stars and “Star Trek” regulars: Christopher Plummer (”The Sound of Music”) as the one-eyed Klingon General Chang; Kim Cattrall (”Sex and the City”) as Vulcan Star Fleet officer Valeris; Michael Dorn (Worf on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”) as one of Worf’s Klingon ancestors; Rene Auberjonois (Odo on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”) as a high-ranking Star Fleet officer; Christian Slater in a cameo; Grace Lee Whitney in a cameo; supermodel Iman as a shape-shifter; and look for Kurtwood Smith (Red on “That 70s Show”) under the mane of white hair as president of the Federation of Planets.
Leonard Nimoy was executive producer and shared a story credit on this one. Nicholas Meyer directed and co-wrote the screenplay. While there are parallels to U.S.-Soviet history, at its core this movie is a solid space romp wrapped around a mystery. “The Undiscovered Country” is one of the stronger, more entertaining entries in the series.
When an explosion rips apart the Klingon moon of Praxis, it reveals the dire state of the Klingon empire, which faces its planet’s destruction within 50 years. This forces the Klingons to seek peace with the Federation. The Klingons and the Federation have been longtime adversaries, and their years of conflict have defined and given meaning to each other. So when peace is proposed, not all are accepting on either side. Kirk, whose son was killed by the Klingons, typifies the anti-peace sentiments, but finds himself the unwilling holder of an olive branch and the unwitting pawn of conspirators.
The Enterprise and her crew rendezvous with the ship carrying the Klingon chancellor. After a delightfully tense and amusing dinner (”Guess who’s coming to dinner,” Chekov says) aboard the Enterprise, the Klingons return to their ship, which is then torpedoed, seemingly by the Enterprise. Assassins beam aboard the Klingon ship and begin killing passengers. Kirk and McCoy try to assist, but the Klingon chancellor dies anyway. The Klingons arrest, try and convict Kirk and McCoy for the assassination, and they are sentenced to a dismal, frigid asteroid prison. Kirk and McCoy must use their wits and Kirk’s fists to survive and escape.
Meanwhile, Spock and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise must figure out who masterminded the attacks while staying one step ahead of them, keep tabs on Kirk and McCoy, delay the Enterprise’s ordered return to space dock and keep the peace process from falling apart. Luckily, they have allies aboard the Excelsior, commanded by Sulu.
Memorable quotes (of which there are many): “Once again, we’ve saved civilization as we know it,” Kirk says, to which McCoy replies, “And the good news is they’re not going to prosecute.”
- Renee Lawrence
“Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” (1991)
James T. Kirk (William Shatner)
Spock (Leonard Nimoy, also executive producer)
Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley)
Uhura (Nichelle Nichols)
Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (James Doohan)
Sulu (George Takei)
Checkov (Walter Koenig)
Directed by Nicholas Meyer.
Story by Leonard Nimoy, Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal.
Screenplay by Nicholas Meyer and Denny Martin Flinn.
