Marvel Stock Rises, Disney Stock Falls
In the wake of the huge annoucement that Disney has bought Marvel, it is easy to tell which company shareholders believe got the better part of the deal.
As of 11AM EST this morning, stock prices per share for Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL) were at $48.73 a share, up $10.08, a 26% rise. The day’s range for the stock has been $48.60 to $49.30. This comes on the heels of a deal where Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) purchased the comic book and entertainment company, along with its library of over 5,000 characters, for $4,000,000,000 (FOUR BILlION) dollars.
The deal meant that Disney paid $50 a share for Marvel stock in both cash and stock of its own, a premium of 29% over Marvel’s closing price of $38.65 on Friday. Disney shareholders believe that the deal may help Disney, which has a firm hold on the market of young girls with properties like Hannah Montanna and the Jonas Brothers, reach out to young boys as well.
For Marvel shareholders and comic book fanboys, the deal holds great possibilities, both in the licensing and marketing of Marvel characters through Disney, as well as the opportunity for Marvel to produce comics based on Disney characters. It also means that Marvel will be backed by an entertainment giant in the same way that competitor DC Comics is backed by Time Warner.
Disney’s stock, in the wake of the deal, has fallen to $26.19, a $.65 or 2.42% drop, and has spent the day in the $26.16 to $26.97 range. Though the deal may not be as beneficial for Disney in the short term, with Marvel having long term distribution deals with Disney competitors Sony Corp. (NYSE-SNE), which is also down $.63 (2.32%), News Corp (Twentieth-Century Fox NYSE-NWS), which is down $.33 (2.55%), and Viacom, which is down $.33 (1.25%). However, Disney obviously sees the deal as a good long term strategy, and it will be interesting to see how the deal affects both the distribution deals in coming years, as well as the effort that these other companies put into building the Marvel brands.
Syndicated from The Outhouse – Comic Community Run By Fanboys, For Fanboys
Posted originally: 2009-08-31 10:10:40
About Post Author
