Disney, Marvel form new league
Disney is paying a healthy $4 billion for Marvel Entertainment. Where will Disney see payback? Bill Radke marvels at the deal with marketing professor Ken Wilbur, who explains why this could indicate a change-up in Disney's strategy.
Stan Lee, Creator of Marvel Comics (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
More on Entertainment, Mergers/Acquisitions
TEXT OF INTERVIEW
Bill Radke: The Walt Disney company announced this morning it's buying Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion in cash and stock. On the line is Ken Wilbur, marketing professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. Good morning.
Ken Wilbur: Good morning.Radke: OK, Ken, let's get this out of the way: "Spidey snared in Mickey's web" . . . "It's a hulking deal" . . . got any more?
Wilbur: Uh, "The hammer of Thor is coming down on the industry."
Radke: Very good, very good, thank you. What is in this for both companies?
Wilbur: Well for Marvel, there's a lot of money in it. If you look at their stock price, this is a very healthy premium that Disney is paying, it's about 25 percent over what the market price on Marvel stock was yesterday afternoon.
Radke: And the stock has, of course, jumped.
Wilbur: Yeah, quite a lot.
Radke: What about for Disney?
Wilbur: For Disney, first reaction is they're locking in stories and character rights for their many movie studios, right? Second reaction, as you think about it a little more, you can see a strategic shift in Disney. I think what this allows them to do is sell to kids as they get older. Maybe kids who aren't necessarily watching the Disney Channel.
Radke: Right. Disney's latest claims to fame have been Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers.
Wilbur: Right.
Radke: What are some of Marvel's properties?
Wilbur: Well, some of their most popular movie franchises so far have been Spiderman and X-Men. Thor is coming out next year and Captain America is moving forward, and we're going to see that in the not too distant future.
Radke: Why haven't these companies come together sooner if it's such a great idea?
Wilbur: My best guess is that it took Disney awhile to recognize that they needed to pay this premium for Marvel. I mean, they're really giving up a lot of money in the deal over the market price for Marvel Comics.
Radke: Will this pass an anti-trust review?
Wilbur: You know, I think if you look at this from a traditional anti-trust perspective, you're not going to see any major reasons to flag this deal. Marvel and Disney, for the most part, don't overlap in their core markets.
Radke: Ken Wilbur is marketing professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. Thanks, Ken.
Wilbur: Thanks for having me.
Comments
Comment | Refresh
Post a Comment: Please be civil, brief and relevant.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments are moderated. Marketplace reserves the right to edit any comments on this site and to read them on the air if they are extra-interesting. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting.
You must be 13 or over to submit information to American Public Media. The information entered into this form will not be used to send unsolicited email and will not be sold to a third party. For more information see Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.