You’ve heard the news. Disney is paying $4 Billion for Marvel’s intellectual property portfolio, including 5,000 characters, but the deal will leave a few licensing deals for movies and toys in place without substitution. According to the the NY Times, “[t]he deal was valued at about $50 a share, a 29 percent premium. On Monday, Marvel shares shot up 25 percent to $48.37.” Some believe the premium paid for the IP is too much. Nevertheless, there may be implications on the wider M&A market as a result of this transaction. Boiled down to a bird’s-eye view, one cannot escape the fact that the two largest blockbuster deals this year dealt solely with intellectual property - Pfizer/Wyeth and Disney/Marvel.
For more interesting information regarding some litigation and politics surrounding the Disney/Marvel deal, read this piece.
Ian McClure is a former corporate & securities and intellectual property law attorney with 
Trevor M. Blum is a former Associate in the Chicago-based, valuation practice group of Ocean Tomo, LLC., an intellectual property (IP) consultancy. Additionally, he provided instrumental research support to Intellectual Property Exchange International, Inc., an IP exchange start-up. Trevor holds a B.S. from Indiana University and is currently an MBA candidate at the University of Cambridge, focusing on international business and finance. His interests also include entrepreneurship, economics, and informational visualization. He enjoys running and cycling in his free time. Trevor seeks to bring a transnational business perspective to the blog. 
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