Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) was an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York, formed by the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group and Toy Biz. The company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company since 2009, and was mainly known for consumer products, licensing, and comic books by Marvel Comics, as well as its early forays into films and television/streaming shows, including those within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment for ; it had been a limited liability company (LLC) since then. For financial reporting purposes, Marvel was primarily reported as part of Disney's Consumer Products segment ever since Marvel Studios' reorganization from Marvel Entertainment into Walt Disney Studios.
Over the years, Marvel Entertainment entered into several partnerships and negotiations with other companies across a variety of businesses. , Marvel has film licensing agreements with Sony Pictures via Columbia Pictures (for Spider-Man films) and theme park licensing agreements with IMG Worlds of Adventure and Universal Destinations & Experiences (for specific Marvel character rights at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Japan). Aside from their contract with Universal Destinations & Experiences, Marvel's characters and properties have also appeared at Disney Parks.
On March 29, 2023, Marvel Entertainment's operations, including Marvel Comics and Marvel Games, were folded into Disney's larger business units.
History
Marvel Entertainment Group
Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. (or MEG), incorporated on , and included Marvel Comics and Marvel Productions. That year, it was sold to New World Entertainment Ltd as part of the liquidation of Cadence Industries. On January 6, 1989, Ronald Perelman's MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings bought Marvel Entertainment Group from New World for $82.5 million. The deal did not include 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.
In the early 1990s, Marvel Entertainment Group began expanding though acquisitions and the formation of new divisions. Marvel purchased the trading card company Fleer on July 24, 1992. On April 30, 1993, Marvel acquired 46% of ToyBiz, which gave the company the rights to make Marvel toys. The Andrews Group named Avi Arad of ToyBiz as the president and CEO of the Marvel Films division.
In 1993 and 1994, Marvel's holding companies, Marvel Holdings, Inc. and Marvel Parent Holdings, Inc., were formed between Andrews Group and MEG. The companies issued over half a billion dollars in bonds under the direction of Perelman, which was passed up in dividends to Perelman's group of companies. Later on, Marvel and Acclaim Entertainment teamed up to provide a video game license in the early 1990s, which eventually formed into a joint label, Marvel Software in 1994. On July 5, 1994, Marvel acquired Panini Group, an Italian sticker-maker, followed by Malibu Comics on November 3 and Heroes World Distribution, a regional distributor to comic-book shops, in December. On March 10, 1995, it acquired trading card company SkyBox International and was completed later in May.
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. A minority of dissidents maintain no bubble existed.
Bankruptcy and Marvel Studios
In late 1995, Marvel reported its first annual loss under Perelman, which was attributed mainly to the company's large size and a shrinking market. On January 4, 1996, Marvel laid off 275 employees.