Posted Wed Sep 2, 2009 at 06:00 AM PDT by Mike Attebery
In the biggest media deal this year, Walt Disney Co agreed to purchase Marvel Entertainment for the princely sum of $4 billion.
While it was a higher price than many might have expected -- 37 times Marvel’s estimated earnings in 2009 -- Disney sees the addition as an important step.
Industry analyst David Joyce suggests that Disney is attempting to woo back boys and young men who have been a demographic missing from the company. “This helps give Disney more important exposure to the young male demographic that they have sort of lost some ground with in recent years,” said Joyce.
No word is out yet on how this will affect current Marvel properties or upcoming DVD and Blu-ray releases, but Disney says they have no interest in changing Marvel, and wish to keep the brand intact. The change in ownership could certainly be beneficial for both, with Marvel making up for Disney’s lost boys, and Disney promoting and utilizing Marvel’s lineup of over 5,000 characters like Marvel was never able to.
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