Disney buys Marvel for $4B

[tjkraz]

However, I doubt Universal would have purchased any sort of limited license. They probably signed a deal for a one time use for each character they use which a deal like that would hold up no matter who it was sold to. Regardless of who owns Marvel, they have to still hold up previous contracts as part of the acquisition.

That's not how these deals are designed. When a company owns intellectual property valued in the billions (the Spider-Man films alone have made $2.5 billion), you don't sign away a portion of that character's rights in perpetuity.

Some of the relevant details include:

1. What characters are covered under the Universal deal? (I doubt they have a blanket agreement to use everything "Marvel" at their whim.)

2. What is the scope of the license? There is probably some exclusivity clause, but it could be limited to Orlando-area parks, Florida parks, US domestic parks, etc. I doubt that Universal has world-wide exclusive theme park rights to Marvel characters. If Marvel characters have not been licensed in other countries, Disney could be able to immediately put them in DLP, Hong Kong, etc. The lack of any Marvel presence in Universal Hollywood suggests that the agreement may be limited to FL's Islands of Adventure only. Contractually it may be possible to add a Marvel presence to Disneyland at any time.

3. What is the duration of the current contract and what renewal terms are stated? The current deal may simply end with no extension provisions. Or Universal could have the option to extend at a pre-determined price.

Whatever the case, I doubt that Disney would have completed this deal if existing Marvel contracts handcuffed them with terms they were not comfortable assuming. Disney knows that Sony has a contract for the Spider-Man film franchise. They've read the contract and will abide by the terms. And that's true of every licensing partner. But like Iger said, as those deals come up for renewal, Disney will view them from the standpoint of whether they are better bringing the property in-house or renewing the licensing agreement.

 

[TIGGERGUY]

I wouldn't mind seeing Marvel Superhero Island rethemed to Transformers. It would be a good fit and appeal to similar demographics. MSI is looking rather worn out and could use a good redo anyway.

 

[Jonny_Duck]

Not sure what I think of this news yet. On one hand I am semi bored with Disney and tend to go for more atmosphere then fun rides so if they actually do utilize this in their parks I may feel the need to get a new yr pass.

Its a weird move. Kinda makes sense because Disney doesn't rly appeal to teenage audience as much. But are they after profits from comics, movies, toys, or will they actually spend some cash and build a ride out of it.

"1. What characters are covered under the Universal deal? (I doubt they have a blanket agreement to use everything "Marvel" at their whim.)"

Well I think IOA pretty much covers the more popular of the Marvel chars.

Doubt anything will change for a while but its interesting that Uni may have to be paying Disney to use those rides. Its unlikely they have any spare cash to change the theme'ing right now or anytime in near future with all they have going on.

"I wouldn't mind seeing Marvel Superhero Island rethemed to Transformers. It would be a good fit and appeal to similar demographics. MSI is looking rather worn out and could use a good redo anyway."

Meh idk about a whole Island as Transformers but it might work. Wish they could get DC licensing but doubt that will happen.

 

[holcomb-mania]

Parks aside, Disney is about to get a boatload of Iron Man 2 cash in 2010.

 

[tjkraz]

"1. What characters are covered under the Universal deal? (I doubt they have a blanket agreement to use everything "Marvel" at their whim.)"

Well I think IOA pretty much covers the more popular of the Marvel chars.

As always, the devil is in the details. It all depends upon how restrictive the agreements are. When a major Intellectual Property is involved, agreements are usually VERY specific in how the characters can be used. The contract most like states exactly which characters can appear at meet-and-greet events or in parades/street shows.

Attraction licensing is probably done on an individual basis. I doubt they could simply decide to build an Iron Man or Thor attraction without any approval from Marvel.

Similar issues have been discussed regarding the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. There are many stories of JK Rowling having specific input into attraction design, mandating how characters can and cannot be used within the parks and so on. The Marvel agreement is certainly similar in nature.

Here's a really interesting aspect that could come into play. When corporate naming rights are involved, contracts usually address what happens in the event of an entity's name change. For instance, when TD Banknorth bought Fleet Bank, the new Boston Garden (where the Celtics and Bruins play) was re-named accordingly. When Sprint acquired Nextel, many Nextel sponsorship agreements were shifted to Sprint.

IOA's land is actually called "Marvel Super Hero Island." They licensed not only the Marvel characters but the "Marvel" name. If Disney decides to rename Marvel, it is very likely that IOA will be required to mirror the name change. Imagine IOA being home to "Disney / Marvel Super Hero Island."

A lot of it depends upon whether Disney plans to tinker with the Marvel name. There will certainly be some discussions between Disney and Marvel as well. Disney may look for ways to extricate its new characters from Universal parks. US may not be happy continuing to support an offshoot of the Disney brand.

This relationship could play out any number of ways in the end. US could decide that they are better off retheming that area of the park now and the two parties could agree to an amicable split. Or the contract could end up being renewed for years to come.

 

[zev]

I just hope Disney knows how good Marvel is the way it is. Hope they do not try and influence their way of doing things. They want the audience Marvel has captured (older male) who will jump ship if Disney starts "Can't they be nicer" "It should be more family oriented and not so scary or violent". Don't get me wrong I really enjoy Disney for what it is, and I really enjoy Marvel and IOA for not being Disney and having more of an edge to it. Could this be an opening for DC and Universal in the future? Guess we will see if Disney srews it up by trying to make the Hulk and Wolverine pacifists.

 

[Pyro2008]

That's not how these deals are designed. When a company owns intellectual property valued in the billions (the Spider-Man films alone have made $2.5 billion), you don't sign away a portion of that character's rights in perpetuity.

Some of the relevant details include:

1. What characters are covered under the Universal deal? (I doubt they have a blanket agreement to use everything "Marvel" at their whim.)

2. What is the scope of the license? There is probably some exclusivity clause, but it could be limited to Orlando-area parks, Florida parks, US domestic parks, etc. I doubt that Universal has world-wide exclusive theme park rights to Marvel characters. If Marvel characters have not been licensed in other countries, Disney could be able to immediately put them in DLP, Hong Kong, etc. The lack of any Marvel presence in Universal Hollywood suggests that the agreement may be limited to FL's Islands of Adventure only. Contractually it may be possible to add a Marvel presence to Disneyland at any time.

3. What is the duration of the current contract and what renewal terms are stated? The current deal may simply end with no extension provisions. Or Universal could have the option to extend at a pre-determined price.

Whatever the case, I doubt that Disney would have completed this deal if existing Marvel contracts handcuffed them with terms they were not comfortable assuming. Disney knows that Sony has a contract for the Spider-Man film franchise. They've read the contract and will abide by the terms. And that's true of every licensing partner. But like Iger said, as those deals come up for renewal, Disney will view them from the standpoint of whether they are better bringing the property in-house or renewing the licensing agreement.

Um, maybe you misunderstood what I wrote but you basically rewrote it in further detail.

As I said, they probably made a deal for use of single characters with single uses. I really couldnt see them signing a deal to use "x" icon for "y" length of time. Basically, you can use this icon and this icon only as long as you pay this amount of money per year or whatever. There is no expiration expiration of the use of that icon as long as you pay per (insert length of time here).

My point though was that I doubt they Universal signed a license agreement where if the company was sold it could be easily compromised. They can use, as an example, the Hulk icon on one ride. However, if they wish to reuse the icon, they have to sign another agreement.

In either case, there is no telling what will really happen as we dont know Universal sign and they havent released a statement.

 

[keishashadow]

I would imagine that Universal has a contract that would withstand this sort of thing.

Uni and Marvel have a contract that needs to be honored. When that contract comes up Disney will be be sure to hike the currents fees and licenses that Uni pays. If Uni want to keep what they have they will probably need to pay through the nose. Best part is Uni now has to pay Disney to basically keep running IOA.

jmho, not a good fitboth from vantage of disney stockholder & one who enjoys both parks

few quotes from AP wire:

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Walt Disney Co. 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, which was announced Monday and is expected to close by the end of the year, Disney will acquire the rights to 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...

One point of the deal is to help Disney appeal to young men who have flocked to theaters to see Marvel superheroes such as Iron Man in recent years. That contrasts with Disney's recent successes among young women with such fare as "Hannah Montana" and the Jonas Brothers. Marvel television shows also already account for 20 hours per week of programming on Disney's recently rebranded, boy-focused cable network, Disney XD, and that looks likely to increase, Iger said. The shows are "right in the wheelhouse for boys," he said.

However, analyst David Joyce of Miller Tabak & Co. noted that that the $4 billion offer was at "full price." 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 shot up $9.91, or 26 percent, to $48.56 in midday trading Monday. Disney shares fell 82 cents, or 3 percent, to $26.02.

Disney said the boards of both companies have approved the transaction, but it will require an antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.

Although it began producing its own movies, starting with "Iron Man" last year, Marvel has several deals with other movie studios that Disney said it will honor and re-examine upon expiration.

For example, "Spider-Man 4," set for release in 2011, is being made with Sony Corp.'s Columbia Pictures; "Iron Man 2" will be distributed by Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures next year; and the upcoming "X-Men Origins: Magneto" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2," both due in 2011, are to be distributed by News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox.

 

[HolidayLover]

http://wdbo.com/localnews/2009/08/universal-says-spiderman-stays.html

 

[WWEDUDE]

http://wdbo.com/localnews/2009/08/universal-says-spiderman-stays.html

Good to hear

 

[Metro West]

Good to hear

 

[Joel110]

Bad day for USIoA. Is it me or does $4 Billion sound like chump change these days? Maybe if they said, "Disney bought Marvel Comics for $0.004 Trillion Dollars"....nope...guess not.

 

[Claymax]

http://wdbo.com/localnews/2009/08/universal-says-spiderman-stays.html

...from the link above...
"We believe our agreement with Marvel stands and that the Disney-Marvel deal has no impact on our guest experience."

That's not exactly a definitive statement. "We believe..." That sounds like someone asked their attorneys what this means and the lawyers said, "Well, I THINK we're going to be able to keep it."

If they were sure the statement would have read more like, "Our customers have no need to worry. Our contract with Marvel will continue as it always has, without any changes or interruptions whatsoever."

I think Disney will force their hand into changing all Marvel licensing, just as soon as they are able to do so.

 

[Claymax]

Hmmm, perhaps this is why Michael Bay was checking out the Spiderman ride recently???

Maybe Uni's ahead of us all and lining up Transformers for the island.

 

[Claymax]

More From The Orlando Sentinel: "Marvel has several long-term agreements in place already with various other companies for many of its characters, including movie deals with Paramount, Sony and Fox, for such characters as Iron Man, X-Men, Spider-Man, Captain America and Thor. Those contracts will be honored until their terms expire, which could be several years or more in some cases.

Marvel also has various deals with the two-park Universal Orlando. The agreements governing two of Universal's hugely popular rides, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk roller coaster, appear to be virtually perpetual deals. According to Universal's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Universal Orlando retains American rights east of the Mississippi River for as long as its attractions are in operation.

Universal and Marvel also have various deals for everything from merchandise sales to the theming of many other portions of the Orlando resort's Islands of Adventure theme park."

 

[WWEDUDE]

That's not exactly a definitive statement. "We believe..." That sounds like someone asked their attorneys what this means and the lawyers said, "Well, I THINK we're going to be able to keep it."

If they were sure the statement would have read more like, "Our customers have no need to worry. Our contract with Marvel will continue as it always has, without any changes or interruptions whatsoever."

I think Disney will force their hand into changing all Marvel licensing, just as soon as they are able to do so.

IMO, I think they said it that way is that can't predict the future. Saying something is for 100%, is well nearly impossible. There is a chance of anything happening, but I don't think they would say "We believe..." if they didn't think it wasn't going to happen.

 

[Rip]

More From The Orlando Sentinel: "Marvel has several long-term agreements in place already with various other companies for many of its characters, including movie deals with Paramount, Sony and Fox, for such characters as Iron Man, X-Men, Spider-Man, Captain America and Thor. Those contracts will be honored until their terms expire, which could be several years or more in some cases.

Marvel also has various deals with the two-park Universal Orlando. The agreements governing two of Universal's hugely popular rides, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk roller coaster, appear to be virtually perpetual deals. According to Universal's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Universal Orlando retains American rights east of the Mississippi River for as long as its attractions are in operation.

Universal and Marvel also have various deals for everything from merchandise sales to the theming of many other portions of the Orlando resort's Islands of Adventure theme park."

Would you happen to have a link to that?

 

[damo]

Would you happen to have a link to that?

Front page of the Orlando Sentinel

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-bk-disney-marvel-entertainment-083109,0,2559631.story

 

[cachacopr]

Uf! I wonder about this. Could they disappear from USF? I wonder what will come out from this purchase? Maybe a new financial agreement or licensing deal? Or would Disney go for the kill, stripping USF from such characters? And with the financial crisis at USF, I wonder what will or might become of them...

 

[Rip]

Front page of the Orlando Sentinel

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-bk-disney-marvel-entertainment-083109,0,2559631.story

gracias