Marvel up 26% on Disney Buyout

Spider-Man, the Hulk and all the superheros of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:MVL) will now be joining Mickey and the gang at The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS).  The deal will cost $4 billion and Marvel shares are up 26% to $48.69 which now puts the Marvel's current market cap at $3.82 billion.

Disney Co. announced Monday that it has agreed to purchase comic book and action hero company Marvel Entertainment for about $4 billion.  If Marvel shareholders approve the deal, they would receive $30 per share in cash and 0.745 shares of Disney for each share of Marvel that they hold. The deal is valued at $50 per Marvel share, more than a 29% premium, based on Friday's closing price.

Marvel has launched a large number of action-hero movies over the past decade. Last summer's "Iron Man" blockbuster was the first to be fully financed and produced by by the comic book company.

Marvel also holds the rights to 5,000 popular action hero characters, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and Thor.