I don’t know about the average person, but I think this is huge. I mean, Time Warner owns the DC comic universe and now Disney will own the Marvel Universe? I just hope this doesn’t mean that we’ll see Spiderman saving Mickey Mouse in the next movie? Although, a lot of the Marvel properties are distributed by other companies, Spiderman by Sony, Hulk by Universal, X-men by Twentieth Century Fox, so I don’t really know how it’ll all work, but that’s a huge coup for Disney, even if it didn’t need Marvel, both brands, in my opinion stand to gain more from the buy out.

from Variety.com:

Disney to buy Marvel for $4 billion

Deal requires antitrust review

By LEO BARRACLOUGH

The Walt Disney Co. has agreed to acquire Marvel Ent. in a stock and cash transaction worth $4 billion.

Under the terms of the deal, Marvel shareholders would receive $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. Based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters.

The boards of both companies have approved the pact, which is subject to antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.

“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,” said Robert A. Iger, Mouse House prexy and CEO.