EdwardKnoxII 0 Report post Posted June 21, 2004 http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread...?threadid=14286 MARVEL: DEBT FREE As of yesterday, Marvel is debt free, a goal the company had set for itself since emerging from bankruptcy in 1998. Marvel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December of 1996, after being driven to the brink of ruin, in the views of many analysts, by former owner, Ron Perelman. Today’s news comes as Marvel redeemed all of the principal from its outstanding 12% Senior Notes. The deal cost Marvel approximately $169 million, which it paid in cash. As a result of the move, as of close of business yesterday, Marvel had over $150 million in cash, certificates of deposit, and commercial paper. Comparatively, the company was $200 million in debt at the end of 2000, which led many observers within the industry to take a long-term stance that Marvel would declare bankruptcy again, or be quickly bought by a larger company in a sale or hostile takeover. Marvel also reported that it anticipates having approximately $200 million in cash by December 31st. Marvel’s press release regarding the state of the company reads: Marvel Enterprises, Inc., (NYSE:MVL) a global entertainment licensing company, announced that it has redeemed all of the outstanding $150,962,000 in principal amount of the Company's 12% Senior Notes due 2009. The redemption price was $106 for each $100 in principal amount of the Notes, plus six-months of accrued interest totaling approximately $9 million, for a total cash outlay to redeem the Notes of approximately $169 million. Marvel funded the Senior Notes redemption with cash on hand. Following the redemption, at June 15, 2004 Marvel had over $150 million in cash, certificates of deposit and commercial paper and no debt. As previously announced, Marvel expects to record approximately $16 million in aggregate interest expense in the second quarter of 2004, consisting of $4 million of net interest expense for the three-months ended June 30, 2004, the early redemption premium of roughly $9 million, and $3 million of previously unamortized deferred debt costs related to the Senior Notes. Marvel anticipates cash levels at December 31, 2004 to approximate $200 million, reflecting anticipated Federal income tax payments resulting from the recent exhaustion of Federal net operating loss (NOL) carry-forwards. Marvel commenced payment of cash Federal income taxes in the second quarter, which are expected to amount to $45-$55 million in fiscal 2004. "Redeeming our Senior Notes at the earliest allowable time has been a goal of Marvel since we emerged from bankruptcy and refocused our business on high-margin consumer and entertainment licensing initiatives," said Allen Lipson, Marvel's President and CEO. "Emerging as a debt-free company with a growing cash position is a testament to our business model and ability to leverage our popular brands to generate strong cash flows." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Last Free Voice Report post Posted June 21, 2004 Well, I think we can all say a big thank you to the Ultimate Line. or to good planing. Either way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
starvenger 0 Report post Posted June 21, 2004 Anyone else find it ironic that Marvel seems to be heading back to the early 90's with a plethora of X-Titles and the return of Liefeld? I swear that if die-cut embossed chromium holofoil covers make a comeback I'm quitting comics for good... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbondrage99 0 Report post Posted June 21, 2004 What are you talking about Gimmicky covers kick ass....well some of them....when done right......sometimes... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steviekick 0 Report post Posted June 21, 2004 I'd say that movie licensing has saved marvel. There is actually a really good book about Marvel's finances under Perelman called Comic wars : how two tycoons battled over the Marvel Comics empire--and both lostby Dan Raviv. Very interesting and shows the business side of comics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Man in Blak 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2004 Yeah, I'd echo the movie licensing, as well as the move towards dividing the titles into genre-specific imprints like Marvel Knights. The X-Titles look to be taking a huge regression, however, with Claremont doing everything within his power to undo or tarnish Morrison's run on New X-Men. I'm a fan of both writers, but Claremont could potentially create an even larger disaster than he did when he punished X-fans everywhere with the Neo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Golgo 13 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2004 What are you talking about Gimmicky covers kick ass....well some of them....when done right......sometimes... They're always a lame and unnecessary hook, only there so the company can gouge consumers on already overpriced books for the sake of profit. People don't buy comics because of fancy covers. Especially because these covers only have tendency to show up during big events, people buy because of the importance of the book itself. However, I'm not opposed to multiple covers, but for the love of god, don't go overboard with the fancy graphics, and please keep them at or near the price of the "regular" cover. Now, not that I really buy comics anymore, and only follow when something is on my mind, but good for Marvel. Now hopefully they don't fuck it up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mecha Mummy 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2004 Does this mean that Marvel will, oh, make their comics a little less overpriced? I don't mind $2.25, but THREE BUCKS? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2004 What happened? I fell out of comics and completely ignored them for a while(thank you very much clone saga!) and I just recently came back. What was going on with the bankruptcy and such? I don't know anything about what happened in that time span. I don't even know what the hell Stan Lee does anymore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Golgo 13 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2004 Don't take this as the final word, since I'm as lost as yourself. Bankruptcy: The comics industry was in a creative and financial drought, with DC and Marvel feeling the biggest effects, resorting to short-sighted gimmicky hooks, their problems even being brought on by the hooks themselves. DC had Zero Hour and Electric Superman, probably others since I never followed DC too closely. But at least they had the Vertigo imprint. Under then owner Ron Perelman, Marvel was laboring, relying on overkill of their franchises and multi-book spanning crossover events. With these huge events which lured you into buying every issue having to do with it, lest you miss out on a piece of the story, came the chromium foil, holographic, skullfuck my eyes out on the price covers. I'd assume there were originally high demand for these covers. Again acting on assumption, I guess comic shops were ordering these things by the truckload. Suddenly the demand dropped off, and comic stores were left with a bunch of unsold shit, hurting them and Marvel in the process. This would be enough to turn consumers off, but the complete ass raping of Marvel's poster boy in Spider-Man had something to do with it, turning off even more people. Then they kept it going for ages due to initially high sales, eventually writing themselves into a corner, thus turning off even more people. Also of note in causing the bankruptcy is the backwards heirarchy and political system within Marvel. It was extremely hard on those having to do with creating the stories, as they were allowed very limited creative freedoms, often working on the whims of the higher-ups (which, again, leads to shit like the Clone Saga, or the overexposure of the X line). A lot of the books had a literal revolving door of writers and artists alike, leading to a lot of inconsistency. Toy Biz kept Marvel afloat for some time, I think, due to a consolidation of some sort. During this time, Marvel was trying to find its legs still, with restart after restart of its franchises, during the post-Onslaught stuff. Finally, largely due to the success of Marvel properties in theatres -- and through revamped heirarchy practices with new voices on staff (like Joe Quesada, who I'm not even sure is still around) and reshuffled comic lines, they pulled themselves out of it. Stan Lee: As far as I know, he only serves as a consultant of sorts. Hell, he's even done some stuff for DC, surprisingly enough. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted July 12, 2004 So Stan doesn't actively come up with ideas anymore? Hell I guess he hasn't for a while. He just does interviews talking about the golden age..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
