The Walt Disney Company has agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment, Inc. for $4Billion in a stock and cash, acquiring ownership of Marvel’s more than 5,000 characters. Both companies seem to be happy with the transaction as they announced the news on Monday (August 31).

Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company said:

“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories. Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney.”

“We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation,” Iger added.

Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer, said:

“Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses. This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney’s tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world.”

This is one interesting deal that will mingle companies with different target audiences. Disney is more appealing to a female audience while Marvel’s characters like X-Men, Spider Man and The Incredible Hulk are a big part of the male universe.