Just breaking from Market Watch is news that The Walt Disney Company will be acquiring Marvel Entertainment (the company behind such comic icons as Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four) in a stock and cash transaction worth about $4 billion. No other sources for this yet, but we’ll report more below as it comes in.

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UPDATES: Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer: “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.”

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

According to the article: “Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters. Mr. Perlmutter will oversee the Marvel properties, and will work directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel’s properties.”

More sources confirm: ABC News and the Associated Press. Marvel stock up 25%.

It’s official! Disney is now reporting the news.

And now word is in from Marvel.