Disney to Buy Muppets

[marty3d]

So after more than a decade of rumours and false starts, it's finally happened:

The Walt Disney Company and The Jim Henson Company Sign Agreement for Disney to Buy the ``Muppets'' and ``Bear in the Big Blue House''. The transaction includes all Muppet assets, including the Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo and Animal characters, the Muppet film and television library, and all associated copyrights and trademarks, as well as all the "Bear in the Big Blue House" characters, television library, copyrights and trademarks. The parties have signed a binding purchase agreement and expect the transaction to close within two months, subject to receiving the necessary regulatory clearances. The transaction does not include the "Sesame Street" characters, such as Big Bird and Elmo, which are separately owned by Sesame Workshop. The deal also includes non-exclusive production and consulting agreements under which Henson will develop potential new programming featuring the "Muppets" and "Bear in the Big Blue House" for Disney.

The should be seen as good news for Disney (hopefully boosting stock price) and could help Eisner (he needs all the good news he can get). Considering Comcast is already saying that DIsney is now too expensive, hopefully this pushes the stock price up some more.

I'd also expect to see more of the muppets in the parks!

Disney buys Muppets, Bear in the Big Blue House

Hmm - URL isn't working properly - it keeps turning part of it into a happy face.

[adambreakey]

Marty - you beat me to it.

I read this a little while ago and thought... oh that rumor again. But sure enough, it appears to be real.

anyway - i think it is good news, as the muppets mesh nicely with the disney core product.

adamb

[MickeyBabe]

Cool!!!!


Now I wish they would but the Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles by Henson productions and bring them back to the park too.

I'd love more movies too

Cowabunga dude!

[Lou Mongello]

Boy, Disney was gunning for this for a long time... just biding their time, I guess... now where's that Kermit smilie???

[ripkensnana]

I thought that Disney bought the rights to the Muppets (except for the Sesame Street characters) years ago, not long after Jim Henson dies...and that's why there's a Muppet attraction @ the Studios. I'm confused...

[marty3d]

No, Disney has licensed the muppets for a while. They were in negotiations for the Muppets when Henson died but it fell through in the succession (can't remember the exact details). The muppets were sold to a German company but the Henson family wasn't happy with the lack of promotion, etc. They bough back the muppets last year and now (after almost 15 years) Disney finally owns them.

[crashbunny]

Yahoo now maybe the Muppet show will return!!!
And yes more muppets at the parks- Beaker is my favorite!!!!

[adambreakey]

Yahoo now maybe the Muppet show will return!!!
And yes more muppets at the parks- Beaker is my favorite!!!!

The latest rumors are saying that the deal has stalled as of now, and it might be in trouble.

I will post a link to any 'confirmed' rumors that I find on the subject.

adamb

[Xharryb]

I too have heard that things have stalled a bit. I knew this whole thing was to good to be true. maybe it's the conspiracy theorist in me, but I'm wondering if Disney rushed to make a deal they could announce (they needed to announce some good news at the time and were desperate to do so), but never really had a solid idea what they were gonna do so now they are dragging their feet.

[Lou Mongello]

Great.. just great.. and I just finished sewing my Mickey ears onto my Miss Piggy doll (make that "collectible action figure"... I dont' play with dolls)