Week 3 Assignment 1: The Case of Disney and Marvel

Week 3 Assignment 1: The Case of Disney and Marvel
Submit by end of Day 7
Value: 100 Points (2% of your Final Grade)

Overview:

The
project requires students to perform independent research and analysis
on the acquisition of Marvel Entertainment by The Walt Disney Company.
You may make use of any resources to which you have access to research
this acquisition. However, each resource must be relevant and reliable,
and you must cite your sources where appropriate.

Directions:

Your final product should be a 1 page paper (double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 pt. font).

First,
briefly discuss the businesses of the two companies and their positions
within their industries. Then, answer the following questions:

1. When was the acquisition announced? What were the
   explicit reasons for the acquisition? Do you believe there could be
   reasons for the acquisition other than those explicitly discussed by the
   companies or by the business press?
2. How did the market react on the day of the
   acquisition announcement? Did Walt Disney’s stock price decrease or
   increase? Why do you believe the market reacted the way it did? Relying
   on the market reaction, do you believe that the project undertaken by
   Walt Disney (the project of acquiring Marvel) increased the
   shareholders’ wealth for Walt Disney? Why or why not?
3. What was the form of payment in this deal?
4. Did the acquisition help/hurt Marvel’s competitors?
   Why? Justify your answer by examining some stock market data for
   Marvel’s competitors.