BURBANK, Calif. – At the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, Mickey Mouse is rolling out the red carpet to greet his new cousin, Spider-Man.

The Walt Disney Company announced on Monday, August 31, 2009, that it would buy the company legendary comic book writer/editor Stan Lee helped to build: Marvel Entertainment. The deal, said to be worth about $4 billion, pays Marvel shareholders $30 in cash and about ¾ of a Disney share for each Marvel share they own.

“The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which was valued at $50 a share,” The New York Times reported.

“We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation,” Disney CEO Robert A. Iger said in a statement.

“Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses. This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney’s tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world,” Marvel’s CEO Ike Perlmutter said.

MarketWatch reports that under the terms of the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters. Perlmutter will oversee the Marvel properties and will work directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel’s properties.

Marvel’s third-party deals (Sony for Spider-Man, Fox for X-Men and Fantastic Four, and Paramount for distribution of Marvel’s self-financed slate of films) will remain in place.

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