Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises and Toy Biz, Inc., and marketed and stylized as MARVEL) is an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, formed by the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. and ToyBiz. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, and is mainly known for its Marvel Comics, Marvel Animation, and Marvel Television units. Marvel Studios, formerly under the Marvel umbrella, became a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios, where it develops and produces a shared universe of films that shares continuity with some of the shows produced by the television unit.

In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment for US$4 billion; it has been a limited liability company (LLC) since then. For financial reporting purposes, Marvel is primarily reported as part of Disney's Consumer Products segment ever since Marvel Studios' reorganization into Walt Disney Studios.

Over the years, Marvel Entertainment has entered into several partnerships and negotiations with other companies across a variety of businesses. , Marvel has film licensing agreements with 20th Century Fox (for X-Men films and Fantastic Four films), Sony Pictures (for Spider-Man films), and Universal Pictures (a right of first refusal to pick up the distribution rights to any future Hulk films produced by Marvel Studios), and a theme park licensing agreement with Universal Parks & Resorts (for specific Marvel character rights at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Japan). Aside from their contract with Universal Parks & Resorts, Marvel's characters and properties have also appeared at Walt Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products.

Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc.
Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. (Marvel or MEG), incorporated on 1986-12-2 as the parent company of Marvel Comics and Marvel Productions, was put up for sale as part of the liquidation of its then parent corporation, Cadence Industries, and sold in 1986 to New World Pictures. On January 6, 1989, Ronald Perelman's MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings group of companies bought Marvel Entertainment Group from New World for $82.5 million, not including Marvel Productions, which was folded into New World's TV and movie business.

"It is a mini-Disney in terms of intellectual property," said Perelman. "Disney's got much more highly recognized characters and softer characters, whereas our characters are termed action heroes. But at Marvel we are now in the business of the creation and marketing of characters."

Public offering and acquisition
Marvel made an initial public offering of 40% of the stock (ticker symbol NYSE:MRV) on July 15, 1991, giving $40 million from the proceeds to Andrews Group, Marvel's then direct parent corporation within MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings.

Marvel Entertainment Group then began expanding with acquisitions and forming new divisions. Marvel purchased the trading card company Fleer on July 24, 1992. On April 30, 1993, Marvel acquired 46% of ToyBiz, for the rights to make Marvel toys. The Andrews Group named Avi Arad of ToyBiz as the president and CEO of the Marvel Films division and of New World Family Filmworks, Inc., a New World Entertainment subsidiary.

In 1993 and 1994, Marvel's holding companies, Marvel Holdings, Inc. and Marvel Parent Holdings, Inc., were formed between Andrews Group and MEG and issued over half a billion dollars in bonds under the direction of Perelman, secured by Marvel's rising stock, which was passed up in dividends to Perlman's group of companies. Marvel continued making acquisitions with Panini Group, an Italian sticker-maker on August 4, 1994 for $158.4 million, and SkyBox International on March 8, 1995 for $150 million.

Marvel also purchased Heroes World Distribution, a regional distributor to comic-book shops on Dec. 28, 1994. Marvel's attempt to distribute its products directly led to a decrease in sales and aggravated the losses which Marvel suffered when the comic book bubble popped, the 1994 Major League Baseball strike massacred the profits of the Fleer unit, and Panini, whose revenue depended largely on Disney licensing, was hobbled by poor Disney showings at the box office.

Marvel Studios and bankruptcy
While licensing revenue reached $50 million in 1995, MEG laid off 275 employees on January 4, 1996, as losses for the 1995 year were $48.4 million, compared with $61.8 million in profits for previous fiscal year. On November 12, 1996 Perelman offered to have the Andrews Group purchase additional shares with an issue for $350 million in November 1996 (the "Andrews Plan"), which would have required ToyBiz to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Marvel. Meanwhile, Carl Icahn began buying Marvel's bonds at 20% of their value and moved to block Perelman's plan. The Marvel group of companies filed for bankruptcy on December 27, 1996, but the noteholders, led by Icahn, initially blocked this.

In August 1996, Marvel created Marvel Studios, an incorporation of Marvel Films, due to the sale of its film and TV sister company, New World Communications Group, to News Corporation. Filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise money to finance the new corporation, Marvel, Isaac Perlmutter's Zib, Inc. and Avi Arad sold Toy Biz stocks, which Marvel had started and took public in February 1995.

Icahn fought to take control of the company from Perelman. The court ruled on February 26, 1997 that Icahn could foreclose on a controlling interest in Marvel shares put up for collateral for the company's bonds. On April 28, 1997, ToyBiz and Marvel agreed to a plan supported by Chase Bank that would merge the two companies, grant then lenders a $250 million loan proceeds, a 5-year, $170 million note, 28% of merged entity's equity and all stock in subsidiaries Fleer/SkyBox and Panini subsidiaries with Marvel shareholders receiving two sets of stock warrants. Finally Icahn took control of Marvel's board and became Marvel's chairman on June 20. Bankruptcy proceedings continued with multi-way arguments among Perelman, Icahn, Toy Biz, and the banks. A plan for reorganization agreed to by Icahn and the MEG's secured creditors fell apart on October 8 with the introduction of the better Toy Biz plan. The Bankruptcy Court on December 24 appointed a trustee to oversee the company.

In June 1997, Marvel formed its Marvel Enterprise division, headed by president and CEO Scott C. Marden, to manage its trading card and sticker businesses, as well as Marvel Interactive, an Internet-entertainment and software-publishing company.

A lawsuit by bond holders and Marvel's litigation trustees was filed in 1997, accusing Perelman and other Marvel Board Directors of diverting $553.5 million in proceeds from 1993 and 1994 notes to other MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings' companies, prior to Marvel's 1996 bankruptcy. The lawsuit asked for $471 million in damages. The appellate court ruled that, “None of the proceeds went to Marvel, or were used for Marvel’s benefit”, but instead improperly enriched the directors. While denying any wrongdoing, Perelman agreed in August 2008 to settle for $80 million, which the trustees accepted. The settlement fund, after paying off trustees' and legal fees, administrative expenses and a $2 million loan, had $50 million to distribute to some Marvel Entertainment Group shareholders and unsecured creditors.

On February 18, 1998, Marvel collaborated with Universal Parks & Resorts to open up Marvel Mania Restaurant at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, as well as Planet Hollywood. However, Planet Hollywood had financial problems due to expanding too quickly, and closed Marvel Mania less than a year later.

Another Toy Biz reorganization plan supported by the most creditors is submitted to the court on February 13, 1998. New York Stock Exchange stops trading of Marvel stock on April 17. Toy Biz owners Ike Perlmutter and Avi Arad, with the banks on their side, snatched Marvel from Perelman and Icahn, in order to protect their own financial interests. Retailer and columnist Chuck Rozanski estimated that Perelman made $200 to $400 million from Marvel, while Forbes magazine believes he made nothing; and the judge in the Marvel bankruptcy trial estimated that Perelman made $280 million plus various tax advantages. The judge ousted Icahn as Marvel's chairman in December 1997, naming a trustee to run Marvel while discussion continued between the various factions involved.

Marvel Enterprises
ToyBiz and Marvel Entertainment Group were merged into Marvel Enterprises to bring it out of bankruptcy in June 1998. In February 1999, Fleer/Skybox was sold to a corporation owned by Alex and Roger Grass, a father and son, for US$30 million.

Later, the rights to names like "Spider-Man" were being challenged. Toy Biz hired an attorney to review its license agreement. Los Angeles patent attorney Carole E. Handler found a legal loophole in the licensing of the Marvel name and was successful in reclaiming Marvel Enterprises' movie rights to its character Spider-Man.

Marvel Enterprise organized itself into four major units, Marvel Studios, Toy Biz, Licensing and Publishing, while in November 1999 adding Marvel Characters Group to manage Marvel's IP and oversee marketing. Marvel named its Marvel New Media president, Steve Milo, in November 2000 to oversee its website.

In 2003, Bill Stine purchased back Quest Aerospace, a 1995 Toy Biz acquisition, from Marvel. In summer 2003, Marvel places an offer for Artisan Entertainment. A new unit, Marvel International, was set up in London under a president, Bruno Maglione, to extend the company's operation and presence in major overseas markets in November 2003. In December 2003, Marvel Entertainment acquired Cover Concepts from Hearst Communications, Inc. In November 2004, Marvel consolidated its children's sleepwear-apparel licensing business with American Marketing Enterprises, Inc.

In November 2004, the corporation sued South Korea-based NCSoft Corp. and San Jose, California-based Cryptic Studios Inc. over possible trademark infringement in their City of Heroes massive multiplayer online game. Marvel settled a film-royalties lawsuit in April 2005 with its former editor-in-chief, publisher and creator, Stan Lee, paying him $10 million and negotiating an end to his royalties.

Marvel Entertainment
In September 2005, Marvel Enterprises changed its name to Marvel Entertainment to reflect the corporation's expansion into financing its own movie slate.

In 2007, several Stan Lee Media related groups filed lawsuits against Marvel Entertainment for $1 billion and for Lee's Marvel creations in multiple states most of which have been dismissed. Additionally, a lawsuit over ownership of the character Ghost Rider was filed on March 30, 2007, by Gary Friedrich and Gary Friedrich Enterprises, Inc.

Disney subsidiary (2009–present)
On August 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company announced a deal to acquire Marvel Entertainment for $4.24 billion, with Marvel shareholders to receive $30 and approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each share of Marvel they own. The voting occurred on December 31, 2009 and the merger was approved. The acquisition of Marvel was finalized hours after the shareholder vote, therefore giving Disney full ownership of Marvel Entertainment. The company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange under its ticker symbol (MVL), due to the closing of the deal.

On June 2, 2010 Marvel announced that it promoted Joe Quesada to Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment. In June 2010, Marvel set up a television division headed by Jeph Loeb as executive vice president. Three months later, Smith & Tinker licensed from Marvel the character rights for a superhero digital collectible game for Facebook and Apple's mobile platform. On October 1, 2010, Marvel moved its offices to a 60,000 sqft suite at 135 W. 50th Street, New York City, New York, under a nine-year sublease contract.

Stan Lee Media's lawsuit against Marvel was dismissed again in February 2011.

In March 2013, Feld Entertainment agreed with Marvel to produce a Marvel Character-based live arena show. Marvel was also launching a new pop culture and lifestyle web show, “Earth’s Mightiest Show”. On August 22, 2013, Marvel Entertainment announced that it was working with Hero Ventures on The Marvel Experience, a traveling production/attraction. In April 2014, Hong Kong Disneyland announced the construction of Iron Man Experience, the first Marvel ride at any Disney theme park. It opened in 2017 and was built on a location in the park's Tomorrowland.

On September 16, 2009, the Jack Kirby estate served notices of termination to Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures to attempt to gain control of various Silver Age Marvel characters. Marvel sought to invalidate those claims. In mid-March 2010 Kirby's estate "sued Marvel to terminate copyrights and gain profits from [Kirby's] comic creations." In July 2011, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a summary judgment in favor of Marvel, which was affirmed in August 2013 by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The Kirby estate filed a petition on March 21, 2014 for a review of the case by the Supreme Court of the United States, but a settlement was reached on September 26, 2014 and the family requested that the petition be dismissed.

In October 2017, Ron Richards began working at Marvel Entertainment as Vice President and Managing Editor of New Media, while Marvel Digital freelance on-air host Lorraine Cink was hired as Senior Creative Producer. Marvel New Media expanded into a new field with the development of a scripted podcast series, Wolverine: The Long Night, announced on December 5, 2017.

On December 7, 2017, Marvel announced its Marvel Rising franchise focusing on new characters as youngsters starting with animation in 2018. Marvel Comics is expected to publish material for Marvel Rising, but delayed any announcement on their material.

In May 2018, The Walt Disney Company Australia purchased eight year naming rights to Docklands Stadium from Melbourne Stadiums Limited and selected the Marvel brand as part of the name. Since September 1, 2018, the stadium has been known commercially as Marvel Stadium. A Marvel retails store and other inclusion of Marvel would be added to the stadium.

Units
The company's operating units, as of 2015, include:

Divisions

 * Marvel Custom Solutions, customized comic books
 * Marvel Games (the division utilized for video game promotion and licensing of Marvel intellectual properties to video game publishers).
 * Marvel New Media (also called Marvel Digital) unit consists of the company's website, online video series and podcast. Ron Richards is Vice President and Managing Editor of New Media. Digital shows under New Media are THWIP! The Big Marvel Show, The Marvel Minute, Marvel LIVE! and Marvel Top 10.

Subsidiaries

 * Asgard Productions LLC (Delaware)
 * Cover Concepts, Inc.
 * Green Guy Toons LLC (Delaware)
 * Marvel Entertainment International Limited (United Kingdom)
 * Marvel Film Productions LLC (Delaware)
 * Marvel Internet Productions LLC (Delaware)
 * Marvel Television (2010–) television production division
 * Marvel Animation, Inc. (2008–): Subsidiary charged with oversight of Marvel's animation productions.
 * Marvel Animation Studios
 * Marvel Toys Limited (Hong Kong)
 * Marvel Worldwide, Inc., publisher of Marvel Comics
 * MRV, Inc. (Delaware)
 * MVL International C.V. (The Netherlands)
 * MVL Film Finance LLC: holder of Marvel's Movie debt and theatrical film rights to the twelve characters and supporting characters as collateral.
 * MVL Iron Works Productions Canada, Inc. (Province of Ontario)
 * MVL Incredible Productions Canada, Inc. (Province of Ontario)
 * Squad Productions LLC (Delaware)
 * Intellectual property holding companies:
 * Iron Works Productions LLC, movie rights subsidiary
 * Incredible Productions LLC (Delaware), movie rights subsidiary
 * Marvel Characters, Inc.: subsidiary holding general rights of all Marvel Comics characters
 * MVL Rights, LLC: subsidiary holding Marvel Comics characters' movie rights$(film slate contracted with MVL Film Finance LLC)$
 * Marvel Characters B.V. (The Netherlands)
 * Marvel International Character Holdings LLC (Delaware)
 * Marvel Property, Inc. (Delaware) incorporated 12/2/1986 (formerly Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. )
 * MVL Development LLC (Delaware), rights subsidiary

Former

 * Marvel Toys (formerly Toy Biz) (1984–2007)
 * Marvel Merchandising department/Heroes World Distribution Co. (early 1970s–1975/1994–1996)
 * Malibu Comics (1994–1997)
 * Marvel Books division (c.1985)
 * Marvel Comics Ltd. (1972–1995; UK subsidiary)
 * Marvel Films (1993–1996)/Marvel Studios, LLC (1996–2015) a film and television production company; now a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios
 * Marvel Films Animation – animation subdivision (1994–1997)
 * Marvel Mania Restaurant (Marvel Restaurant Venture Corp.)
 * Marvel Enterprise division
 * Marvel Interactive
 * Online Entertainment (Marvel Zone)
 * Software Publishing
 * Fleer Corporation
 * Panini Group: Italian sticker manufacturer
 * SkyBox International
 * Marvel Music Groups (1981–1989) music publishing subsidiary
 * Marvel Productions (1981–1989)
 * Mighty Marvel Music Corporation (1981–1989) music publishing subsidiary
 * MLG Productions (2006–2011), Marvel & Lionsgate's subsidiary group for Marvel Animated Features
 * Spider-Man Merchandising, L.P. (? –2011): A joint venture of Marvel and Sony Pictures Consumer Products Inc. that owned the rights to Spider-Man movie related licensed products.
 * Welsh Publishing: comic book publisher

Chairmen

 * Ronald O. Perelman (January 6, 1989 - October 23, 1996)
 * Scott M. Sassa (October 23, 1996 - June 20, 1997)
 * Morton E. Handel (October 1, 1998 - December 31, 2009)
 * Isaac Perlmutter (January 1, 2017 – Present)

CEOs

 * William C. Bevins (1991 - October 23, 1996)
 * Scott M. Sassa (October 23, 1996 - June 20, 1997)
 * Joseph Calamari (June 23, 1997 - October 1, 1998)
 * Joseph Ahearn (October 1, 1998 - November 25, 1998)
 * Eric Ellenbogen (November 25, 1998 - July 20, 1999)
 * F. Peter Cuneo (July 20, 1999 - December 31, 2002)
 * Allen S. Lipson (January 1, 2003 - December 31, 2004)
 * Office of the Chief Executive
 * Isaac Perlmutter (January 1, 2005 - December 31, 2016)
 * Executive Vice Presidents:
 * Alan Fine (April 2009 – ? )
 * John Turitzin (September 2006 – ?)
 * David Maisel (September 2006 – December 31, 2009 )

Presidents

 * Stan Lee (1972–1973)
 * Al Landau (1973–1975)
 * Jim Galton (1975–1991)
 * Terry Stewart (1992 -1993 )
 * Rick Ungar (?–November 1993)
 * Avi Arad (November 1993–?)
 * Bruce Stein (?–November 1994)
 * William Bevins Jr. (November 1994–?)
 * Terry Stewart (May 1995)
 * Jerry Calabrese (May 1995–mid 1996) & (October 1998–November 1998)
 * Scott C. Marden (interim) (Mid 1996–September 1996)
 * David Schreff (September 1996–?)
 * Joseph Calamari (?–October 1998)
 * Eric Ellenbogen (November 1998–July 1999)
 * F. Peter Cuneo (July 1999 –January 1, 2003)
 * Allen Lipson (January 1, 2003 – January 1, 2005)
 * Alan Fine, President (2009–) also, chair of Marvel's Creative Committee
 * Dan Buckley (January 2017–present)

Others

 * See subsidiaries' articles for their executives.


 * Bill Jemas (February 2000–October 2010) President of Publishing and Consumer Products
 * Bruno Maglione, President of Marvel International, November 2003
 * Joe Quesada (2010–present) Chief Creative Officer
 * Bill Jemas
 * Chief Operating Officer (January 2002–October 2010)
 * Chief Marketing Officer (October 2010 –late 2013)
 * Guy Karyo (October 2010) Executive Vice President of Operations and Chief Information Officer