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Acquired

Episode 26: Marvel

Acquired

Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

Ma, Business, Technology, Acquisitions, Startups, Venturecapital, Vc, Investing, Investment

4.7 • 5.2K Ratings

🗓️ 5 December 2016

⏱️ 84 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Topics covered include: 

  • Marvel’s corporate origins as "Timely Publications”, created in 1939 by pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman in NYC, with the publication of Marvel Comics #1
  • Creation of enduring characters such as Captain America, the Fantastic 4, Spider Man, The X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk and more
  • Adoption in 1961 of the "Marvel Comics” brand, and writer-editor Stan Lee’s transition of the company towards focusing on edgier characters and stories targeted at older audiences 
  • Marvel’s first sale in 1968 to the Perfect Film and Chemical Corporation (later Cadence Industries)
  • The company’s “turbulent” corporate history through the 1980’s and associated mergers, acquisitions and lawsuits
  • Marvel’s reinvention as a film-focused media company in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s with the launch of Marvel Studios
  • Disney’s ultimate acquisition of the company for $4.2 billion in August 2009, during the depth of the great recession 
  • Marvel's—and in particular Marvel Studios’—performance since the acquisition 

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Followups: 

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Transcript

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0:00.0

All right

0:02.0

to start the show today, we are going to play a little game of Two Truths and a Lie.

0:06.0

Today's episode will be covering the Marvel acquisition by Disney,

0:10.0

and we are going to throw out the Two Truths and A Lie right now, and we are going to throw out the two truths and a lie right now and we will tell you which one is a lie at the end of acquisition history and facts.

0:19.0

So get ready to predict.

0:21.0

Number one, for a brief stretch ending in an internal Time Warner investigation,

0:26.4

the president of DC Comics acquired a large position in Marvel stock. Number two, famed corporate raider and comic book villain Carl icon once made a play to gain control

0:38.7

of Marvel from bankruptcy.

0:41.8

Number three, Marvel owned Fleer, the Baseball Card Company, and was affected in a huge way by the

0:47.8

1994 Major League Baseball Strike, which is the lie, you be the judge.

0:53.0

Who got the truth?

0:55.0

Is it you, is it you, is it you, is it you, who got the truth now?

1:00.0

Is it you, is it You, is it you?

1:03.0

Sit me down, say it straight, another story on the way.

1:08.0

Who got the truth?

1:10.0

Welcome back to episode 26 of Acquired,

1:13.7

the podcast about technology acquisitions.

1:16.4

I'm Ben Gilbert.

1:17.6

I'm David Rosenthal.

1:18.9

And we are your hosts.

1:20.6

Today's episode is Disney's 2009 acquisition of Marvel.

1:25.0

It really completes the saga for us here it acquired

...

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