Let's recap shall we as 13 pages deep, this thread is kind of repeating itself.
What we know:
Disney has made a bid to buy Marvel entirely for the sum of $4 Billion which is made up of stock and cash.
Marvel's initial reports are that it will pass without opposition.
John Lasseter has met already with Marvel's Animation studios and the Marvel films division to discuss future endeavors but nothing has been confirmed and Bob Iger warns that it'll be some time before they can begin working together.
Marvel already licensed out to Theme Parks in Dubai as well as in Orlando under the Universal Studios umbrella, while the Dubai venture isn't known in terms of contractuals, the Universal folks have already confirmed that they have a perpetual deal with Marvel that locks any usage of the characters from any theme park east of the Mississippi. This was to block out Disney, Busch Gardens, etc. For the term of the life of the ride.
Bob Iger confirmed that Disney will allow Marvel to operate semi-independently similar to the way ESPN is run, so count the number of Disney reference on ESPN to get an idea on how it will influence Marvel.
Bob Iger also confirmed that the standing contracts will be honored including the merchandising (which would include Sideshow, HT, etc) and the Universal Theme Parks indicating that they will begin to appear at the world wide parks and even California but not in Florida for the timebeing.
By proxy, this deal means that usage of the characters in the Universal parks will mean that by next year Universal will be paying Disney money for every shirt, keychain, etc made specifically for IOA as well as the licensing of the characters. From initial reports the cost of the characters wasn't locked so Disney can charge what they want once the current contract expires because there is an instant renewal clause but not a price (that we know of) which has many insiders thinking that Universal will look for ways to retheme that area and eventually phase out Marvel.
