Walt Disney to Buy Marvel in $4 Billion Deal

Entertainment giant The Walt Disney Company is set to buy Marvel Entertainment in a shares-and-cash deal estimated at $4 billion. Disney will take ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters, including Spider-Man, X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Captain America. The boards of Disney and Marvel have both approved the deal, which now needs the backing of Marvel shareholders and competition authorities. Arvind Bhatia, analyst at Sterne, Agee and Leach, said the deal appears to be a "win-win situation for both companies. From that standpoint, we think the chances of this deal going through are pretty high."

Via BBC News.